The Jackal of the Grigori
by MetalGearMantis
Summary: The Jackal is greatest living assassin in the supernatural world; a true terror to all. But what the world doesn't know is that 'The Jackal' is little more than a young but broken man, running from his former life. And yet Azazel, his boss, trusts him above all others when failure is not an option, despite the horrific and damning nature of the past that chases him (OC/HAREM)
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Notes = A/N**

"Normal Speech."

'_Thoughts." _

"_Foreign Language." _

"_**Sacred Gears/Weapon spirits speech." **_

'_**Sacred Gear/ Weapon spirits thoughts." **_

* * *

**A/N: To those who read 'The Death God of the Grigori, I welcome you to the newly posted and re-named version of my original story on my last account, which I would appreciate no mention of, as I do not want to have to punch anyone in the face at school/ out of school again. **

**The fallout was a pain and I could do without it. **

**Anyways...**

**As it stands little has been changed (not even my A/N at the end), but I would just like to quickly thank everyone for all their support throughout this difficult period of time, and I hope you enjoy this story all the same. **

**And to those who are joining us for the first time, my name is MetalGearMantis, and I hope you enjoy this story. **

**But enough outta me. **

**Let's get this show on the road!**

* * *

_Disclaimer: I would like to clearly state that I do not own (and more than likely never will) Highschool DxD or any other copyrighted material mentioned here. The rights to said series or materials belongs to their rightful owners. I merely own the intellectual property rights of my OC, Thierry Blanc. I do not, nor ever intend to, profit from the writing of this Fanfiction, and I am merely writing it for non-profit entertainment purposes only. _

* * *

_**Prologue: Enter The Jackal.**_

* * *

(New York City, Harbour Front, January 15th 2014, 9:50 P.M)

A single, lonely figure stood upon the edge of a tall building in the centre of Manhattan island. The figure stood at least 6'3 tall and was wearing what could only be described as 'traditional' Ninja garb. Black, almost samurai style body armour covered his torso, shoulders and legs, whilst a fireproof set of undergarments ensured that the figures modesty was protected. Upon his head, a simple black mask with an armoured lower face-guard was fit snugly against his face, and a skull like visage painted in a dull white on the armoured mask.

The figure stood as still as a statue for several minutes as he kept a calm vigil over the city below him. His gaze was hidden by ballistic goggles, but it was obvious that his eyes followed the world calmly as it bustled around bellow him, watching with a disturbing level of disinterest as life played out in-front of his eyes. It was as if he considered the millions of lives below him, trying to scrape by as little more than insects beneath his boots…barely worth even the cursory glance that he was giving them. The lone figure kept his disgusted vigil over the gorgeous skyline of New York City, the lights on the buildings glistening on the horizon like a million night-time stars in the countryside.

Eventually, after several more minutes of standing, the lone figure felt a faint vibration from the earpiece he wore on his right ear. Raising his right hand, the young man pressed the 'accept' button on the top of the device, only to be greeted by several seconds of static, before a distinctly gruff, male voice spoke over the line.

"_**Jackal, what's your status?"**_

The now identified Jackal took a calming breath before replying in a voice that was barely above a whisper.

"_I'm overlooking the docking area right now. Falcone's got his goons crawling all over the site. Must be a minimum of twenty of them, tops I'm looking at dealing with forty, armed with automatics, shotguns and handguns." _His voice seemed to carry over the radio, the person on the other end taking a shuddering breath before they spoke back up.

"_**Is that going to be a problem?" **_

"_Remember who you're talking to, Azazel. All it means is that a lot more people are going to die tonight than we first thought." _

"_**Good. Just ensure that there is no interference. The last thing we need is **__Overbearing __**catching wind of our operations."**_

"_Don't lecture me, old man. __**Overbearing **__won't have a single clue that it was a Grigori run operation." _

A soft chuckle emanated from the other side of the line, eliciting the faintest of movements from the young man stood on the rooftop; the tensing of his arms and legs ever so slightly, followed by the creasing of the material around where his brows would be. The young man took a step off of the edge of the building, cutting the line as he did.

Shinigami took a slow, calming breath before breaking out into a sprint…..on a super-human level. Within two seconds, the young man had covered the seventy meters of the rooftop and was launching himself into the air, overlooking the docks. His body was spread out like a bird, the wind sweeping over his form…..until he began his decent.

Tucking his body into a ball, the young man rapidly fell towards the cold waters of the Hudson bay, rolling forwards in the air, therefore picking up momentum as he flew closer and closer to the cold waters of the winter bay. Eventually after several more moments, the young man flattened out his body into perfect diving poise milliseconds before he slipped silently into the water, the loud chime of a nearby clock covering and potential noise from his entry into the water.

* * *

Frankie Jones was your average street thug working for Carmine Falcone. Slim build, poor hairstyle and terrible dress-sense. Frankie Jones relied upon the cold steel of his 9mm Berretta to get anywhere in life, to make him feel important.

The young man in question stood on the edge of the pier with little interest in what was going on around him. Some of the other guys he was working with said they had caught wind of a Justice League plan to interfere with their operation tonight, but thus far they hadn't seen a god damned thing. Nope, all he was currently doing was wondering up and down the pier front, pretending that he was on the look-out for anyone stupid enough to attack. Just like everyone else was. After all, who was going to be freaking stupid enough to attack Carmine Falcone's shipments, and those that were, were either Police or they were just down-and-outs who were looking for a way out of life. To deal with the latter, there were guys like himself, and to deal with the former they had their own…._special guests _to take down any pigs if they decided to make a surprise appearance.

'_Stupid freaking pigs. If it weren't for them then I wouldn't be out here freezing my gods-damned balls off!' _

As such, the young man completely missed the black clad figure that clambered over the edge of the pier and onto the walkway, three feet behind him. If he had been paying attention, Frankie Jones would have noticed the faint _**'shink' **_as a blade was drawn from its scabbard. But even if he HAD been paying attention, he would never have heard the figure walking behind him…nor the blade that said figure wielded as it cut through the cold, night-time air.

The only thing that alerted Frankie Jones to the fact that someone was behind him was the half-a-second of pain he felt in his neck as a blood-red blade sliced through his neck like a knife through hot butter.

* * *

Jackal watched with complete disinterest as his targets head dropped to the floor with a near-silent '_thud', _the body set to follow, but the masked assassin simply gave the corpse a light shove with his right hand, sending it careening into the ocean below, before pointing his right index finger at the decapitated head.

All of a sudden, a small but noticeable ball of white-hot flames shot forth from his finger and smashed into the head, turning it into ash so quickly, not even the sickly-sweet smell of burning flesh was produced, and with a lazy hand gesture, a faint wind blew the ashes away silently.

Shaking his head in boredom, the young man immediately dived behind the nearest piece of cover he could find; several stacked crates near the edge of a large corrugated steel warehouse. Pressing his back against the slightly damp cardboard, the young man let out a faint sigh as he gathered a miniscule amount of his power before releasing it in a tiny pulse.

The reasoning for his pulse was simple; he was using his 'echo location technique.'

In simple terms, his technique operated in a similar fashion to sonar. Shinigami would release a faint pulse of his power. Following its release, whenever the pulse hit either an object or a person, a trace amount of the pule returned to him and therefore allowed him to build up a mental image of the surrounding area. It was simple in terms of concept, but the actual skill required to perform a successful execution of the technique was something only Jackal and a few others could actually hope to achieve.

The main reason was because it required a ridiculous level of control to perform properly.

Most people could actually perform a variation of the technique, by simply sending out a large pulse of energy, they would be able to achieve a similar effect. However, the problem is that in doing so, any individual carrying out the technique would put themselves at serious risk, as any decent sized power fluctuation could be detected by an enemy, and therefore expose your position or attract the enemy to you…neither of which were exactly ideal for someone in Shinigami's line of work.

As such, the assassin had been forced to develop his own technique for stealth operations. His technique relied upon perfect control, as The Jackal's variation was based around releasing a tiny pulse of energy. This meant that the amount of energy released was smaller than the previous style by a thousand-fold, and as such, only a master sensor would be capable of sensing the energy release. And even then, they would only be able to detect it if they were focusing and actively looking for it.

Fortunately, the chances of these idiots having anyone of such a skill level were virtually nil. This was a fairly low-end operation from what Shinigami and his 'employer' were aware of, so these fools were hardly going to 'splash-the-cash' on what they thought was a small-scale deal. And seeing as their true foes were trying to maintain a level of anonymity, and keep the weapons secret, it was unlikely that any of their members would be there.

After releasing the pulse, 'Jackal' allowed his eyes to close behind his goggles as the 'sonar image' began building in his mind. Everything from the rats scurrying in the offices two hundred yards away, to the guard currently taking a piss on the balcony some half a mile away. He could now see it all.

Within several seconds, The Jackal had already decided upon his course of action for this hunt.

'_Okay, first target has to be security centre. Don't need any cameras catching any of my skills on tape for these bastards. Following that I'll use the fuse box in the main-building's basement to leave them blind and dumb. It'll make clearing house that much easier. Then all I'll have to do is light the shipment up and leave before any of the other factions turn up and get in the way.' _

Plan formulated and his mind set, the young assassin took a calming breath before slowly creeping out from behind the crates he was hiding behind. Checking that the coast was clear, the young man sprinted across the small bit of open ground between him and the cold steel wall of the nearest warehouse…..

Before continuing his run _up _the wall of the building by applying a miniscule amount of energy to the soles of his feet. A scant few seconds later and the young yet brilliant assassin found himself on the roof of the building. He silently began making his way across the thin sheet-metal roofs of the nearby buildings, making little more than the faintest distortion of the still night air, before soon finding himself directly above the security centre he had identified earlier.

Just as he was about to use his ability again to assess the situation in the room bellow him, the young assassin heard the faint '_**clink**_' as a door opened and a pair of heavy foot-steps broke the silence of the night, and the faint murmur of inane chatter polluted the air.

Stepping towards the edge of the roof, the young assassin peered over the edge and onto the walkway bellow. There, three foot away stood two heavyset men, one with blond hair and the other black. Both were leaning against the railing of the walkway, a faint trail of smoke trickling from the cigarettes the two of them held.

'_Sorry lads, but I can't just let you stay out here and risk you finding me.' _

Silently, the young assassin slipped down onto the walkway, allowing the faint chatter to muffle the sound of his prized sword being removed from its scabbard. Then with the speed of a viper, he brought the blade around in a semi-circle arc, slicing through the poor men's necks as if they were little more than hot butter. The two corpses fell like rag-dolls, absolutely lifeless at the young killers feet the moments they made contact with the steel grating, whilst the now decapitated heads smashed like watermelons on the cold stone bellow.

The young man turned and was about to head back onto the roof, but before he could, a third figure barged through the door, fumbling around in his pocket as he obviously searched for his smoking equipment.

Half a second later and the two men's eyes seemed to meet.

The thug stood there in utter shock. His eyes quickly registered what had happened when he caught site of the crimson coloured blade in the assassins hands….thus activating the mans 'fight or flight' instincts.

He chose flight.

Unfortunately, that was not going to save him.

Not by a long shot.

The thug immediately garbed a hold of the handle for the door he had just barged through, and went to slam it shut. However, by this point, The Jackal was already in motion. The crimson blade in his left hand began to sparkle and crackle as lightning danced up and down the very blade itself…..crimson lightning that flashed across the blade like its white cousin in the night sky.

The young thug in question managed to slam the door shut and pull across the locking bolt, therefore bracing the door against any attempts at forced entry….

However, the thin sheet-metal door was not designed to stop a weapon that could slice through the skin of gods.

And as it happened for the young thug who thought himself safe…..he was about to find out about the blade the hard way.

He had kept his back braced against the door, in order to stop the masked murdered outside from claiming his head like he had his comrades. But as he was about to move away from the door that 'protected' him from the masked killer, his ears barely managed to detect the quietest screeching and scraping of metal, as if it were being torn asunder…a faint hiss as if something were boiling away.

And then he felt pain.

Unimaginable pain that course through his entire chest. Hit felt as if his entire chest-cavity had spontaneously combusted and was melting away. His lungs burned, his heart best so fast it was painful and his ribs felt as if they had shattered completely. The pain was so intense and sudden that he didn't even cry out (not that he would have been able to thanks to the lack of air in his lungs)…but the pain wasn't so strong that it had overridden his sense of smell.

A sickly-sweet smell had invaded his nostrils and was clouding his other senses.

Turning his swiftly failing eyes downwards, the young thug couldn't even find the strength to widen his eyes in surprise at the crimson blade now protruding from his chest. He tried to move his arms upwards to pull on the blade, but it was yanked from his body before he could even twitch a finger, sending his now lifeless body crashing to the floor.

There was several more seconds of silence before the faint rending of metal filled the corridor again for a short while….and had anyone been paying attention…..

They would have seen the crimson blade cut through the_ steel _frame of the door, granting entry to its wielder….

A wielder who yearned for more blood.

* * *

_(Ten minutes later, Warehouse security control centre.)_

The Jackal flicked the blood-red blade that sat in his left hand with what appeared to be almost minimal effort, sending a thick layer of crimson onto the already heavily stained floor.

Six bodies lay around the apparent 'security centre' in various levels of dismemberment and brutalisation. One, who had clearly been in the middle of getting a drink of some description had his right hand removed from his arm before having his entire persons sliced in half across the waist area. A second had been decapitated and had both of his legs removed whilst a third and fourth had both been completely bificurated by the brutal assassins' lethal weapon.

The fifth corpse was little more than a pile of ashes, as was the seat he had been sat in after they had been utterly destroyed by a low-level fire spell. The sixth and final corpse was arguably the most grim of all of them. He had both of his arms removed and his entire body slashed to ribbons in an extremely painful but non-lethal way, whilst his bloodied remains were speared to the metal wall by a re-purposed chair-leg ; making the bloodied corpse appear to be more like a wall-mounted trophy than an assassins victim.

Jacakl quickly-re-sheathed his blade before walking over to the command console at the far wall of the room. He seemed to take several seconds to compose himself before punching _through _the steel frame of the computers in-front of him. A faint fumbling sound emanated from within the confines of the PC's casing before he ripped the main circuits out of the casing. With a tired sigh, the young assassin cast his trophy aside with little regard as he slowly began walking towards the main doorway, his right hand grabbing a chair as he went, before shoving aforementioned furniture under the door handle, therefore preventing anyone from forcing their way into the room without serious time or effort.

'_That should stop any grunt who gets to curious.' _He thought to himself with a small amount of grim-satisfaction as he admired his 'handiwork'.

'_Yup, Azazel is right. I am seriously fucked up…...' _

"But this is a much better way to live than procrastinating in a nine to five job." He muttered to himself quietly in a manner that suggested he expected the nearby corpses to either affirm of disagree with his statement. After an awkward few seconds of silence, the young assassin walked over to a vent cover in the back left corner of the room before ripping it off and inspecting the insides of the now-exposed ventilation system. With a small sigh, the young assassin crouched down and slowly worked his way into the ventilation system, all the time wondering only one little thing as he eased himself into the grim-covered steel tubing.

'_Why can't Vali do this shit?' _

* * *

_(Non-descript room, Main Warehouse)_

Deeper in the complex, a small group of people stood or sat around a table in the middle of a small but quaint little office.

The first member of the room one would notice is the gorgeous woman at the head of the main table. She had long, silky, raven-black hair that reached all the way down to her perfectly formed rear, whilst two tails swished gently behind her and a pair of cat ears stood proudly atop her head. Her body was arguably one of perfection; flawless white skin, a ginormous (and extremely distracting) amount of cleavage and mile-long legs despite her diminutive height. Her face was absolutely gorgeous, but the main feature was the deep-amber eyes that sparkled with mischief and a general love of life.

The second person in the room was an absolute giant of a man, standing close to almost the 7'0 mark. His skin was evenly tanned and his muscles came close to being 'musclebound' and his paws looked large enough to crush the skull of any mortal man. His eyes held a look of boredom and disinterest; as if he would rather be anywhere other than where he was.

The third most notable member of the room was also male. He stood at a respectable 5'10 and cut a commanding figure with his presence and sense of dress (jeans, shirt and a barber jacket). His face was undeniably handsome and was extremely 'aristocratic'; strong jawline, high-cheekbones and flawless skin marked him out as a stereotypical 'Prince charming'; but the cold and calculating look in his eyes would put any thoughts about a fairy-tale prince out of even the most love-struck of girls minds.

The fourth member of the room was a slightly diminutive female with a lithe but gorgeous figure that was currently clad in a white blouse, jeans and combat boots that had several pieces of armour covering them. A happy smile was currently plastered on her angelic face and her eyes sparkled with mischief as she looked around her fellow occupant.

Eventually, after a tense silence, the brute of a man finally spoke up.

"This is fucking boing Arthur! I'm getting fed-up of waiting around here for jack-shit to happen." He complained in a deep and gravelly voice that literally seemed to fill the room. The now identified Arthur turned his gaze towards the giant of the man, and was about to speak, but before he could, the angelic blond spoke up.

"Muuuuu~ Herc-Kun, you need to be patient!" She spoke with a slightly childish voice, her smile still plastered on her face.

The brute of a man turned his gaze towards the woman in question.

"Shut it Jeanne! Just because you're weak and don't wanna fight doesn't mean I don't. AND DON'T FUCKING CALL ME HERC-KUN YOU LITTLE BITCH!" The giant man roared towards the giggling blond, but before he could leap across the table and attack the diminutive girl, a tired sigh broke out from the other female in the room.

"You need to relax a little Hercules, nya. Ophis-samma told us to hang around here and that's what we need to do , nya nya." She said with a playful smile on her gorgeous face, earning a '_you tell 'im' _from Jeanne and a nod of approval from Arthur.

"Kuroka-san is right Hercules-san. Ophis-samma has given us this task for a reason, and as such, it is our duty to carry her orders unless we hear otherwise." Arthur added calmly, his voice filling the room despite the fact that his words were spoken at barely above a whisper. Hercules sent the man in question a look of betrayal, but a single second of a withering glare later, and the bear of a man was subdued; but his pissed-off eyes told everyone that he wasn't going to let the matter drop later on.

The room was silent for several more seconds, before the cat-like ears on Kuroka's ears perked up.

"Someone's here."

"No shit. There's like forty other guys here Kuroka." Hercules grunted, but a glare from the woman in question stopped any further comments.

"I know that you muscle-bound idiot, _Herc-kun. _But….."

Before she could finish her comment, each of the four people in the room found their vision completely drowned in inky blackness as the single, pathetic light that hung in the middle of the room flickered out of existence.

"…."

"…."

"…."

"…."

"I meant someone who's _not supposed to be here, nya."_

* * *

(With Shinigami, Warehouse ventilation system, two minutes later.)

'_Fuck this shit. I'd rather be back home crawling through blood and guts than __**this **__shit.' _The Jackal growled to himself as his hand landed in another grey/brown/black pile of sludge as he continued to traipse his way through the ventilation system. Finding the fuse-box had taken him all of about five or six minutes. It would have been way quicker had he gone through the corridors, but given the number of people between him and the box, it was more tactically sound to traipse through the sludge-filled, poorly maintained ventilation systems.

And after cutting through the fuse box, 'Jackal' found himself (once again) heading through the ventilation system, and towards the main holding area where his main target lay; a cargo container containing some new form of chemical weapon that could affect members of the supernatural.

Normally, mortal poisons or toxological agents would have no effect on even the weakest members of the supernatural. Azazel was still unsure if it was due to a difference in chemical make-up or if each and every member of the supernatural simply did not suffer from it due to some magical or unknown factor. However, it seemed as if someone had managed to figure out the secret to weaponizing some of the more dangerous 'mortal' poisons so that they could now harm members of the supernatural world; and given how much more readily available the rarest human poisons were in comparison…

Well, the possibility of true 'chemical weapons' being introduced into the supernatural did not exactly bode well when boarder disputes and acts of 'solo-terrorism' were so commonplace.

Hence the need for The Jackal's presence here in New York.

Thus far, the only batch of the weapon to have been completed was currently passing through the city under the protection of a human gang (an attempt by the Grigori's foes to keep it as hidden as physically possible). As such, the chemicals current position presented a unique opportunity to acquire a small sample of the weapon for Azazel to examine, and then hopefully destroy the rest before it could be shipped out to Japan; currently the most unstable of the three factions 'flashpoint' zones.

At first, 'Jackal' had been surprised when Azazel had told him the nature of this job. Normally, the eccentric Viceroy would have still sent in Vali to deal with the situation, regardless of the political ramifications and the potential reprisal from their foes. His selection of The Jackal showed just how important and sensitive the mission truly was. After all, if he felt the need to keep this news from his brethren in Heaven and his neighbours in the underworld, then it truly must mean that the mission was of the highest importance and deserved all the secrecy.

'_Hmph. Well at least Azazel trusts me enough to deal with things like this I suppose.' _Jackal mused to himself as he finally felt his guiding hand make contact with the vent-cover he had been looking for.

'Finally!' He mused to himself as his hand reached for the side of his goggles. Pressing a small, almost unnoticeable button on the side, the young assassin's vision turned from the inky black of night to a black and green vision that showed his surroundings in remarkable detail.

Night-vison activated, the infamous warrior gripped the ventilation cover in-front of him and applied just enough pressure to the grating to force it off. Gently placing the cover to the side, the young assassin pulled himself from the vent and immediately dived behind the nearest crate before proceeding to gather a better idea of his surroundings.

A rickety old walkway ran around the perimeter of the room some six or seven meters in the air. All in all there were seven humans stationed around it, each carrying either an assault rifle or sub-machine-gun that sported a small torch that they used to try and keep vigil over the room.

On the floor below, the north-west, south-east and south-west corners (where he was currently hidden, were stacked full of crates and metal shipping containers. A single guard patrolled each corner as best they could in the dark, and they were also armed like their comrades above. The north-east corner of the room was dominated by two sheet-metal doors that looked like they had seen better days. The opening mechanisms for both doors appeared painfully rusted in night-vision, and the doors themselves appeared battered in several places, with huge dents and bullet holes riddling the flimsy metal.

And in the centre of the room was his target.

It was a small brief-case, no bigger than the average one you would expect to find in the hands of a corporate executive or big-shot lawyer. Unlike its civilian cousins, this brief-case was obviously not meant for civil use. The entire case seemed to be made of heavy-duty steel or some-other type of strong and resilient metal, and several hazard labels on the case clearly denoted its status as a mobile storage unit for a biological agent.

'_Okay, targets in the centre of the room with two guards on either side of it, whilst two guys from above have got flash-lights trained on it…okay. Best plan is to take out the guards in the corners first and then hide the bodies as best I can before heading upstairs and taking out the idiots on the walkways. Only slight issue is that I'll have to take out the two guys keeping tabs on the idiots below at the same time before they can raise the alarm, but even that isn't all that difficult….then it's just wrapping the operation up.' _

Plan of action decided upon, the young assassin placed his right hand on his hip, directly above what appeared to be some sort of runic writing. Applying a miniscule amount of power into the runic array, the man watched with satisfaction as a faint '_**puff**_' of smoke formed around his right hand and a familiar weight dropped into said appendage.

The moment the smoke cleared, the unmistakable profile of the Belgian-made Browning Hi-power pistol. The weapon was a gift to him from his mentor before he was killed, and was loaded to fire light-based slugs, therefore allowing Shinigami to engage both mortal and supernatural targets at the same time without having to change weapons. The heavy pistol was currently outfitted with a silencer and was painted a matte-black, therefore ensuring that the weapon could not be seen or heard.

With a well-practiced flick-of-the-thumb, the safety was disengaged and the weapon ready to fire (as the magazine had already been loaded and the first round chambered by the young assassin before he set-off.). With a deep breath, the young man waited for several seconds as the guard for this corner of the room bumbled past his hiding place, muttering obscenities all the while. The moment he was several meters away, The Jackal stalked out from behind his cover with the grace of his name-sake and behind the poor fool, before swiftly wrapping his hand around his mouth and putting a single round straight through the man's heart.

With a muffled sound of surprise, the thug's body jerked once before it fell at a controlled pace to the floor, not a single drop of blood falling from his back due to the muzzle-burn cauterising the wound, whilst flowing far more generously from the almost half-fist sized hole in his chest cavity.

Setting the body down, Shinigami immediately worked his way around the other two opponents in the corners before turning his attention to the cat-walk.

With practiced ease, the young assassin used his magic to anchor him to the walls of the ware-house before making his way to the edge of the rickety metal construct. He waited for several tense seconds as a pair of guards casually strode their way past his precarious hanging position; his breath hitched as the two men stopped for several seconds, literally thirty centimetres away. But before Shinigami could grow concerned, the two of them continued on their way.

With a relieved sigh, the young assassin hauled himself onto the cat-walk and began the process of elimination again; picking of guards one by one until only the two with their flash-lights fixed on the case were left.

Shinigami was now positioned on the western half of the cat-walk, barely a meter away from his first target. Taking a deep breath, the assassin fixed the iron-sights of his most prized fire-arm on the other guard on the opposite cat-walk…waiting until he finally felt ready to spring into action….and after what seemed like an age….

He exhaled…

And moved.

His first action was to dart forward and grab-a-hold of the guard in-front of him, whilst simultaneously placing a single round through the eastern guards head, sending him flying backwards.

With a show of strength, he then sent the guard in his vice-like grip tumbling from the cat-walks with a violent shove that completely shattered the flimsy metal guard-rail and sent the guard flying another half a meter before he began his descent.

The Jackal grinned viciously underneath his mask as the torchlight from the falling guard gave him half-a-seconds glimpse at the two shell-shocked men guarding the case. Then, with what appeared like absolute ease, the most lethal weapon of the Grigori sprung from the cat-walks with so much power that the flimsy metal grating cracked under the power of his jump. His trajectory was designed to completely re-position him into the two (now panic-stricken) guards blind-spot, and it was not a jump he was going to miscalculate.

With the grace of an angle, the masked hit-man landed on the table the two guards were stood either side of with barely a thud. And before either man could even contemplate reacting, The Jackal had already drawn his fearsome crimson blade and driven it through the guard to his left's back in a reverse grip, before pirouetting on his right foot, ripping his deadliest weapon from his first target in a shower of blood, before returning the grip to normal as he sliced clean through the seconds guards neck, sending his head flying like a baseball and leaving his body to drop like a puppet with its strings cut.

Flicking his blade clean of blood and re-sheathing it, the right-hand of the Viceroy jumped down from the table and ejected the spent magazine from his pistol before slamming a new clip home and pulling back the slide, taking a great amount of comfort from the familiar _**'chi-chink' **_as the first round of a new clip rolled into the firing chamber.

Setting the weapon to the side of the brief-case, the young assassin got to work on the lock on the top of the box. Advanced it may have been, but when you spend almost your entire life learning how to bypass such protections, they pose as much of a challenge as a simple door-lock.

Within moments, there was a faint hiss as the case opened enough to allow The Jackal to fit his fingers underneath the case and prise it open.

The insides were exactly as Azazel described them. Four, twenty centimetre long and five centimetre wide containment cylinders sat comfortably in a shock-absorbing foam casing; each one filled with some sort of liquid. The colour was obviously indecipherable to the assassin, but from what he could tell by the way it seemed to move in the tube, it was obviously a liquid of some description.

Gently, the young assassin removed the left-most tube and stored it on a seal on his left hip, sending the dangerous tube into a pocket dimension with a silent _**'puff' **_of smoke.

Just as he was about to begin setting up explosive runes, he heard a noise….and it sounded just like a vent-cover being forced off of its fittings.

'_Someone else is here….and I can't sense their presence…'_

Realisation struck him like lightning.

'_So, one of the Brigade is here…well that complicates things.' _

However, that did not mean he was going to stop working…..no, instead he was going to just keep on doing what he was doing, planting explosive runes and getting ready to get the hell after dodge. After all, he didn't need to really confront his guest just yet…

Well, not when such a wonderful chance for an ambush presented itself.

* * *

Kuroka made her way towards the figure she could make out in the centre of the room in near silence. Her cat-like heritage gave her incredibly good vision at night, and as such she could tell that the man in the centre of the room was trouble; simply by the way he made every fibre of the Nekomata's being scream '_**danger**_'.

He seemed to be clad in mostly old-school Ninja gear, with black undergarments and matt-black armour covering his torso, shoulders and legs from what she could see. On his right hip sat an odd looking scabbard for a Japanese style Katana. The entire thing seemed to be made of some sort of metal, with the tip being painted an extremly dull grey as opposed to the main sheath's black. Towards the top of the scabbard seemed to be some sort of firing mechanism, with a hand-guard on the underside and a trigger, whilst a bolt-mechanism was built into the face of the scabbard that was open to the world. The handle of the weapon was wrapped in a rich purple material and the hand-guard seemed incredibly intricate (although it was difficult to tell as she could only see a small part of it).

All in all, he looked like the sort of person you didn't really want to tangle with. His aura was calm, cold and collected and his stance relaxed….which was slightly off-putting given the carnage that he had inflicted upon the occupants of the room…

And that just made him all the more threatening to most people.

And all the more interesting to Kuroka.

'_Nya, it seems like he's pretty strong, nya. I wonder…' _

A small smirk broke out across the gorgeous Nekomata's lips as she slowly stalked across the open ground between her target. Once she was within striking distance, she slowly built up a miniscule amount of chakra around her hands, sharpening it until it was strong enough to cut through steel.

Taking another step forward, the Nekomata prepared to launch the strike that would undoubtedly slay the young thief in-front of her, but before her strike had truly begun, her opponent lashed out.

With the speed of a viper striking its pray, the young man's right hand darted forward and grabbed the pistol on the table whilst he turned his body around. Kuroka's eyes widened as the gun was brought to bear on her body, and let out a small yelp of surprise as she began ducking, rolling and weaving away from her target as he unloaded round after round towards her.

Diving to the left to avoid a shot that had been placed in front of her path in anticipation, Kuroka landed on her feet and readied herself to dive off to either side, but when an all too loud '_**click**_' reached her hypersensitive, the gorgeous young woman knew she had to act.

Darting forward at almost untraceable speeds, thanks to her species natural traits, she had closed the distance between her and her target in barely two seconds. She launched a simple straight right, and naturally her target ducked down in order to avoid her chakra-enhanced shot.

However, he could do little about the follow-up knee she had already launched at where his head would be. Almost immediately, the gun had fallen from his grip as both his hands caught Kuroka's attack, before pushing her away with what appeared to be little effort. Back-flipping with the pushes' momentum, Kuroka landed on her feet with her left arm on the floor to steady herself, eyes fixated solely on her target.

Said man was reaching for the sword on his hip, and judging by the speed he was going for his weapon, _that _was his main means of close-combat.

'_Obviously he's not as comfortable in hand-to-hand…..so I'd better keep that big-ass sword in its sheath for as long as possible.' _

Darting forward again, the fearsome SS-Class criminal engaged the masked man in hand-to-hand combat in an effort to keep what was obviously his primary weapon out of the fight. To her surprise, the man met her blow for blow, despite the cuts he suffered from her chakra strikes. To be fair, his cuts were a fair price to pay for some of the shots he managed to inflict on her (If the agonizing pain she felt from her ribs and right cheek was anything to go on).

Ultimately, her plan fell through.

During one particularly speedy exchange, Kuroka found herself overextending in one of her strikes as her mysterious and lethal target managed to slip underneath the left hook she had thrown…with his left hand outstretched and his right-hand firmly gripping the mechanism on the scabbard.

'_Oh Shit!' _

Realizing that nothing good could possibly come from this, the young Nekomata pumped as much charka as she could into her legs and leapt backwards as far as she possibly could, causing the ground to crack slightly under the pressure.

And it wasn't a moment too soon.

As she travelled back several meters, the entire room was filled with a _**'thum**_' louder than the skies during a thunderstorm. It was as Zeus himself had struck the room with a shot from his master-bolt, or a volcano had erupted. The sound was absolutely deafening in such a confined and echoy room the two of them stood in.

The moment her eyes landed on her target, she couldn't help but let her eyes widen in amazement and wonder.

The once sheathed blade was now fully _un-sheathed, _revealing its crimson-blade to the rest of the world, whilst smoke poured from the mechanism at the top of the weapons' sheath. The entire blade was coated in crimson lightning that pranced around the surrounding air like the most agile of dancers.

'_So that's what that's for! A quick-draw mechanism using an explosive charge to allow for super-fast draws. But the physical strength he'd require to catch it, let alone the reflexes just shows how dangerous this guy is… I need to step up my game.' _

Deciding to mask the shock that she felt at the assassins' show of strength, Kuroka decided to fall back onto her usual mid-fight trash-talking in the hopes of putting the young assassin off his (very dangerous) game.

"Ohhhh, taking out your _sword _so early in our relationship, nya? Are you always this forward, nya nya?" She asked in a sultry tone of voice whilst placing her right hand on her hip. The young man brought both his hands to rest on the fearsome sword before he finally replied, his voice carrying a French accent that made itself known despite how quietly he spoke.

"Non, only for ze people I wish to kill."

"I think your giving yourself a little_ too much_ credit for size, nya."

"Zose are ze words of someone 'o wishez to find out."

Kuroka couldn't help but let her smile grow a little bit at his retorts, they were witty and almost instantaneous.

'_He's a sharp one…hmmmmmmmm…..I wonder…..no. There's no time to think about that now. I can ask him later after I capture him or we run into one-another again.' _

Kuroka relaxed her stance ever so slightly and began to circle clockwise towards the young warrior, who in turn circled in the opposite direction, keeping Kuroka in view at all times whilst also ensuring that he also began to close the distance. A tense silence had occupied the room as they continued to drift towards one-another, until the male in the room finally decided to break his silence.

"So what are you doing 'ere? Last I checked, your organization wanted to keep It's distance, non?"He asked as the pair reached within eight meters of one another. Kuroka smirked at his movement; clearly he was willing to engage in a little bit of fun.

That she could indulge.

His desire for information though…

Well, she couldn't give away everything now, could she?

"Why do you ask? Don't you like me Assassin-kun, nya?" She asked playfully whilst tilting her ears forwards ever-so-slightly, giving her a slightly depressed look. The assassin just seemed to give her a deadpanned look from underneath his goggles before letting out a small sigh.

"Your combat skills and beauty, Oui. Your incessant need to talk? Non."

"Ohhhhhh, you naughty boy, nya! Been eyeing me up have you, nya nya?" To emphasise her point, Kuroka stopped walking and crossed her arms underneath her bust and forced a sly smile onto her face before leaning forwards slightly, putting her less than a metre away from her opponent.

"Like what you see, Assassin-kun, nya?"

For most men of any species, this would be enough to leave them a complete and utter stuttering mess, thus leaving them open and easy targets for the SS-class criminal.

However, it seemed her opponent was not one to back down in a game of physiological warfare.

Instead of turning into a quivering mess like she had hoped, the young assassin actually stepped towards her and lifted her head until it was merely a few inches from his own.

"And what if I 'ave? Don't 'o like ze thought of someone admiring such beauty?"He asked in a voice barely above a whisper. Kuroka felt her heart beginning to race at the close proximity to the young assassin, which was not aided by the complete mystery he exuded…

'_Focus! Now is the time to strike.' _

Kuroka pretended to be lost as she continued to try and 'find' his eyes, whilst secretly coating her hand in chakra and lining up her fist with the assassins flank. One thrust and this would all be over…..she launched her hand forwards…..

"I wouldn't if I waz 'o."

Kuroka's fist stopped barely a millimetre from the man's flank as she felt something cold slice through the material of her kimono and rest just below her generous bust. The young SS-Class criminal couldn't help but leap back in surprise at the touch, whilst her opponent followed suit and leapt backwards several meters.

'_He…he was distracting me!' _

"_Noticed, eh?" _

Kuroka shook her head slightly, and was immediately forced to dive to the left in order to avoid a downwards slash that would have cut her clean in two, before ducking under and roling away from a sideways/downward slash combo. Digging her hands into the ground, Kuroka pulled her legs up as far as she could before unleashing a powerful mule-kick at the warriors mid-section. She took a little pleasure when she felt her feet connect with the man's sternum and sent him flying away.

Rolling onto her feet, she immediately began to summon her magic to her hands and was just about ready to unleash a firestorm upon her opponent, but before she could even think about it, an all too familiar voice broke her from her thoughts as the lights flashed on.

"I thought I told you to inform me if you ran into our unwanted guest, Kuroka?"

* * *

'_Shit! This Kuroka I could deal with. But four who I haven't a clue as to their abilities…..not worth it.' _

The Jackal backed himself away from his four opponents with small, measured and controlled steps as he attempted to clear his vision from the white spots caused by his new foes restoring the lights. He kept his sword comfortably in-front of him as he began trying to formulate an escape plan from the clearly dangerous individuals in front of him…and move himself closer to his prized fire-arm.

As the Viceroy's right hand continued making his way towards said weapon, the princely-looking leader of his opponents spoke up.

"I do hope you realise how foolish and futile any form of resistance is on your part. You are outnumbered four to one. Surrender and you will merely be taken prisoner and questioned by our leader. Resist…."

Pausing in his speech, the young man reached to his hip and drew an exquisite blade from its sheath. The blade was modelled after the European longsword style, and even at this distance, Shinigami could tell that the blade was the work of a master craftsman…and judging from the oppressive holy aura flooding forth from the weapon….it could only be one sword…..

'_Caliburn.' _

"Zat sword…..you must be Arthurs' descendant then, non_?" _The young assassin asked quietly, earning a nod of acknowledgment from the young man in-front of him. The Jackal tensed his muscles even more as the young man slowly began to creep towards him, sword still hanging from his grip.

"And judging from your attire and that lovely blade, you must be The Jackal, correct? Or do you prefer your Japanese pseudonym, Shinigami? "

"Not many people know zose names_." _

"Indeed….unsurprising if you leave most witnesses like this." Arthur commented off-handedly as he pointed to the two dead guards next to the case. He stopped walking as he gently pushed the closest corpse out of his way with his weapon, whilst The Jackal continued to slowly back-peddle from his opponents, all the while silently praying that the group behind him would just advance a few more measly steps.

'_Come on….come on, come on, come on! Just a little bit closer you bastards.' _He thought to himself as he finally found himself within dashing distance of the remaining piece of his master's legacy.

"The odd thing is that unlike most other assets that our organisation has become aware of, we still can't even place you to one of the factions. Hell, many were still convinced that you were merely a ghost story; a legend to keep the criminals of Europe on their toes…."

"But you realised that ghosts don't leave mountains of dismembered corpzez in zeir wake_." _ The young assassin dead-panned, earning a small chuckle from the legacy of Arthur.

"Indeed…..now like I said…"

But whatever the princely looking young man had to say was cut-off by the large bear-like man at the back releasing a howl of frustration as he began to charge forwards.

"OH FOR FUCK'S SAKE ARTHUR, STOP TALKING AND LETS POUND THIS FUCKER!" He bellowed as his tree-trunk like legs slowly but surely began to move his hulking frame forwards at an ever increasing speed. His compatriots went to catch up with him, but before anyone else could react, The Jackal sent a pulse of his own magical energy to the runic array he had inscribed on the case in the middle of the room.

The effect was instant. And devastating.

The four fools could do little but release yelps of shock and surprise as the room filled with the noise and searing heat of an explosion that was nothing short of an artillery shell detonating in the room. Even Shinigami felt himself heat up substantially from the heat whilst his ears filled with the traditional ringing sound one attributes to being too close to a high explosive at the moment of detonation.

Scooping up his weapon, the young assassin broke out into a full sprint as he raced to make his way to the southern wall; the one closest to the docks.

As he closed within a few feet of the wall, the young assassin waved his right hand in-front of him, releasing a substantial amount of magic into a flame-red magic circle. Almost instantly, a huge torrent of white-hot flames burst forth from the seal and smashed into the wall in-front of The Jackal, obscuring the main collision zone from view whilst turning the surrounding metal red-hot as it began to glow within moments of the spells impact.

After several seconds, the assassin picked up the pace and cut-off the magical flow to the circle in-front of him, taking care to keep a few steps behind the last, lingering flames.

"_I hope this worked." _He muttered to himself in his native French before diving head-first through where the flames had struck. If he had gotten this right, then he would be on the home-run to freedom and success…if he hadn't….

Well he wouldn't exactly live long enough to regret his decision.

Fortunately for The Jackal, he did not dive head-first into a wall of molten-slag like he had been expecting. Instead, he found his body greeted by the freezing-cold air of the outside world.

After executing a text-book forward role, he charged his magical power into his limbs and allowed lightning and wind to completely coat his body….

Before disappearing into the night with little more than what sounded like the displacement of static.

* * *

Arthur allowed a snarl of frustration to break from his lips as he reached the outside world. Things hadn't gotten more fucked up if he and his team had actually even _tried. _

First off, their cargo had more than likely just been completely annihilated by that explosion, the men they had hired had been absolutely butchered and he and the rest of his team had been pretty badly injured by that blast. Arthur had to bite back a yelp of pain as his ribs exploded into agony once again, and his right arm seared with unimaginable pain due to the heavy burns that currently covered everything below his elbow.

"He was pretty good, huh Arty-kun?" Jeanne said cheerily (although with a slight amount of pain in her voice) as she hauled her bruised and singed form up next to him. Her hair was now completely dishevelled and her face was covered in soot and cuts, much like the rest of her, but like Kuroka she seemed to have only suffered superficial damage….unlike Hercules.

Arthur didn't even know if the idiot was alive. But in the unlikely event that he was, the legacy of the legendary King would kill him himself for being such a fool. They all knew that the likelihood of that case being laced with some sort of explosive was high, but that idiot seemed to forget about that.

Shaking his head clear of homicidal thoughts for a certain Greek legacy, the eldest Pen-Dragon legacy sent a black look at his female companion, instantly vaporising the light atmosphere she had somewhat managed to create. The girl brought her right arm up with a slight wince and began to rub her left arm gently out of embarrassment…..but before her commanding officer could reprimand her further, another voice joined their conversation.

"Hey Arthur-san, you want the good news or the bad news, nya?"

Arthur let out a weary sigh as Kuroka came to a halt next to him and Jeanne with one of her hands behind her back whilst the other rested on her hip.

"Start with the bad news first."

"That fucking nitwit Hercules is alive."

That set Arthur's blood onto boil again. But at least now he would be able to deal with the fool himself rather than letting a complete stranger do his job…..however, there were slightly more pressing matters to attend to.

"And the good news?"

Here, Kuroka allowed a small but genuine smile to grace her features as she pulled out what she held in her hidden hand. It was a small but very recognisable container; the top portion had been completely sheared off and well over two-thirds of the vials contents seemed to be missing ,but the faint blue liquid was still concentrated enough for Arthur to release a sigh of relief.

It looked like their plans could go ahead after all.

* * *

_(Grigori Headquarters, Viceroy Azazel's personal office, 4 days later) _

"Stupid bloody idiots…why can't anyone I give an important mission to actually stick within the parameters?" A young-ish looking man asked himself out-loud. The man in question appeared to be no older than twenty seven or twenty eight, with a strong figure (currently hidden by a dark purple suit and shirt) and a handsome face that sported a well-trimmed goatee. His hair was black with blond tips and his eyes a mesmerising violet.

The young man let out a groan of frustration before holding his head in his hands, taking several deep breaths in order to calm himself down…..and in doing so he didn't notice the second person as they stepped out from the shadows of his room.

"Perhaps if you sent competent people in the first place you wouldn't 'ave to deal with ze fallout from incompetence, Azazel."

The now identified leader of the Grigori leapt almost three foot into the air with a terrified yelp as he sent the plush chair he had been sat in tumbling to the floor whilst simultaneously releasing three sets of his wings and summoning a light spear into his hand. When he finally saw who it was that had startled him, Azazel let out a snarl of frustration as he dismissed his wings and his summoned weapon in favour of a menacing glare.

"How many times do I have to tell you Jackal. Don't. Fucking. Do. That!" He snarled, Shinigami gave a casual shrug as he sat himself down in a chair opposite his employer.

"376 times to be precise. But if you actually maintained focus, zis wouldn't be a problem, would it?"

Azazel let out another sigh of frustration before taking in the appearance of his most trusted and valuable asset.

'_The Jackal' _was a young man, no older than eighteen. His 6'3 frame was powerfully built, more akin to a Rugby player than the normal 'swimmers physique' one would expect of an assassin. His skin was lightly tanned and his hair a sandy blond colour that was naturally styled into an array of spikes. His face was extremely handsome, but in a more 'rugged' manner; strong cheekbones, light stubble and his tanned skin only served to highlight the dark-blue eyes that could freeze a man's soul. The young assassin was currently wearing a pair of black jeans and brown sketchers, along with a white long-sleeved t-shirt and plain-black hoodie. Strapped to his right arm was a combat knife and resting in his right hand was his now-sheathed sword.

All in all he cut the rather imposing and impressive figure; hence why half of the female portion of the fallen-angle population madly crushed on the young man in-front of him.

Thierry Blanc.

'_Poor kid looks like he hasn't had a decent night's sleep in the past few days…I should ask him about it later. But for now….'_

"I read your operational report; you did well despite the presence of four '**Overbearing**' members being on-site. I trust you have the sample on-hand?"

Thierry merely nodded as he removed a tiny vial containing a faint blue liquid from an inside pocket of his hoodie before handing it over to the Viceroy of the Fallen Angles.

"I think I may 'ave managed to kill one of zem with the explosion…. But knowing our luck, I wouldn't put any money on zat statement." Thierry commented dryly as he sat back into his chair, earning a serious nod from Azazel.

"Fair enough. But even if you just managed to singe Arthur, Kuroka and the other two, at least you will have put them on edge for a few days and probably gotten them removed from their combat roster for a while due to incompetence."

"I know. But still…it would 'ave been nice to kill at least one of zem."

Azazel let out yet another sigh; the kid could never take praise. Even if he had done a job flawlessly, he would still go back over-and-over his memories with a fine-tooth-comb until he found some sort of fault. And then he would go and train for days on end until he felt he had corrected that practice. In some respects it was what made Thierry so damned good at his job; the fact he was never satisfied with his current level of performance meant that he was always striving to improve himself and thus make himself even more efficient and powerful than he already was.

However, when said training took up time that was meant for sleeping or socialising, Azazel couldn't help but acknowledge the fact that he did it on purpose. After all, if he 'had to train' then he wouldn't have to face the nightmares or form connections with people. He wouldn't have to focus on anything but avenging himself and his master….

And it wasn't healthy.

Hopefully, this next mission would get the kid to unwind a bit and make some friends….amongst other things.

Plan formulating, the leader of the Grigori leaned back into his chair and crossed his arms.

"Any ways, previous mission aside, I need you ready to move in the next few days."

Immediately, Thierry's entire posture tensed up and his eyes hardened even more (if that was possible).

"Do you want a clean kill or do you want to zend a message?" He immediately asked in an absolutely sub-zero voice that put even the legendary leader of the fallen angles slightly on-edge.

"Nobody needs killing."

"Then what do you need destroyed?"

"Actually I want you running surveillance for me."

That stopped the young assassin dead in his thoughts as he shot Azazel a confused and confounded look, as if to say 'are you mad?' Which in the case of the Viceroy, may have been a fair question to ask.

"Listen, Thierry. I sent out one of my best recon teams to deal with the potential existence of another Longinus wielder. As it stands they haven't been sending back their reports for the past few months…."

"So you zink **'Loki' **is making 'is move?"

"Precisely."

"I zee…."

The two of them sat in silence for a while, both contemplating the implications of this recent development. Eventually, after a few minutes of silence, Thierry spoke up to his employer, switching to his native tongue to speak. He knew that anyone eavesdropping would still be able to understand him, but in such uncertain times, he'd still rather do whatever he could to make life a little bit more difficult for his enemies.

"_Do you think __**'Loki' **__is connected with my last operation?"_ He asked in French, earning a small, almost imperceptible nod from Azazel.

"_It's likely. We both know that he's been looking into different ways to restart the war whilst avoiding the blame himself; and if his interest in that operation was anything to go by…" _

"_It's likely that has a vested interest in its outcome." _

Azazel nodded his head again, earning a contemplative look from his youngest and brightest warrior. Thierry sat there for several more seconds before nodding his head slightly.

"_So you want me there to stop the team if they act on his orders and also protect any HVT's in the area when __**'Loki' **__decides to strike?" _

"_Exactly." _

"_Not trying to sound big-headed or anything but this is some serious commitment to this region. Mind telling me why?" _

Azazel grinned ever so slightly as he sat forward in his chair and steepled his hands in-front of his face, switching to his favoured tongue of Japanese.

"Tell me Thierry-kun, what do you remember about Kuoh town?"

* * *

**A/N: **

**Okay I think this is as good a place as any to stop. **

**So this is my first ever story where an OC has the main role. As you can tell, he's pretty dam strong given his ability to fighting against someone like Kuroka on even ground and be rated on equal footing with Vali in terms of strength. But he is NOT able to best people like Azazel, Sirzech etc. Where-as opponents such as Kokabiel….well you'll find out I suppose! **

**Now before any of you ask 'Why didn't you give your OC a stat's sheet etc.', I'd just like to say that it would completely ruin the whole point of making my OC. I want his past to be shrouded in mystery and his skills and weapons to be kept under-wraps until I think the best time to unleash them would be; after all, what's the fun in simply laying out the entirety of your character in fifteen hundred words?**

**Answer: there is none. **

**As such, if you want to find out more about Thierry, you're going to have to learn as the story progresses. **

**Now, onto the next most important thing; Relationships. **

**As this is a Highschool DxD fiction, it is obviously going to be a Harem fic. I mean, it is kind of mandatory with these stories after all! **

**As with Thierry's past and what not, I am NOT going to give you the full list straight away, but instead I will reveal them as they are encountered or as I feel I want you to know. So for now, this is what you have:**

**Thierry's Harem: **

**Kuroka **

**?**

**?**

**?**

**?**

**?**

**?**

**So as you can see, it's a fairly moderate sized harem. I feel seven is a fairly decent number, and gives a little leeway for removal or addition if you guys don't like a member of it. But for now, the only one you get to know is Kuroka; the rest will be revealed as we go. I will list Issei's harem in the next chapter, so at least then you have a fighting chance of working out who's with who in the story (and just be aware; there are going to be quite a few ships in this story!) **

**Now that's all dealt with, all I really have left to do now is ask that you leave a review so that I know what I did well with this chapter and what I did not so well. Also, if you want to stay up-to-date with this story then I suggest that you drop a follow or a favourite (or perhaps both?), and I'd just like to say thanks again to the literal hundreds of people who have shown me support during this tough period of time, and even tougher decision. **

**So Peace out, and,**

**Keep it real like a Ninja, **

**MetalGearMantis.**

* * *

**P.S: I am currently in need of a Beta for this story, so if any of you wish to hop aboard and work with me on this, drop me a PM with your credentials and why I should pick you.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors Notes = A/N**

"Normal Speech."

'_Thoughts." _

"_Foreign Language." _

"_**Sacred Gears/Weapon spirits speech." **_

'_**Sacred Gear/ Weapon spirits thoughts." **_

* * *

**A/N: And here's chapter two's reposting!**

**Okay so this chapter has seen only ONE major change which will affect the story, and as I am sure you will swiftly become aware, it's for a rather obvious (but naturally interesting) reasons! **

**Aside from this one major change, little else has been edited; aside from some small SPaG issues that I've spotted. **

**Anyways, enough outta me for now.**

**This is MetalGearMantis telling you to read on and enjoy. **

**SO GET TO IT MORTALS! **

* * *

_Disclaimer: I would like to clearly state that I do not own (and more than likely never will) Highschool DxD. The rights to said series belongs to their rightful owners. I merely own the intellectual property rights of my OC, Thierry Blanc. I do not, nor ever intend to, profit from the writing of this Fanfiction, and I am merely writing it for non-profit entertainment purposes only. _

* * *

_**Last time in : 'The Jackal of the Grigori.' **_

"_Any ways, previous mission aside, I need you ready to move in the next few days."_

_Immediately, Thierry's entire posture tensed up and his eyes hardened even more (if that was possible). _

"_Do you want a clean kill or do you want to zend a message?" He immediately asked in an absolutely sub-zero voice that put even the legendary leader of the fallen angles slightly on-edge. _

"_Nobody needs killing." _

"_Then what do you need destroyed?"_

"_Actually I want you running surveillance for me." _

_That stopped the young assassin dead in his thoughts as he shot Azazel a confused and confounded look, as if to say 'are you mad?' Which in the case of the Viceroy, may have been a fair question to ask._

"_Listen, Thierry. I sent out one of my best recon teams to deal with the potential existence of another Longinus wielder. As it stands they haven't been sending back their reports for the past few months…."_

"_So you zink __**'Loki' **__is making 'is move?" _

"_Precisely." _

"_I zee…." _

_The two of them sat in silence for a while, both contemplating the implications of this recent development. Eventually, after a few minutes of silence, Thierry spoke up to his employer, switching to his native tongue to speak. He knew that anyone eavesdropping would still be able to understand him, but in such uncertain times, he'd still rather do whatever he could to make life a little bit more difficult for his enemies. _

"_Do you think __**'Loki' **__is connected with my last operation?" He asked in French, earning a small, almost imperceptible nod from Azazel. _

"_It's likely. We both know that he's been looking into different ways to restart the war whilst avoiding the blame himself; and if his interest in that operation was anything to go by…" _

"_It's likely that has a vested interest in its outcome." _

_Azazel nodded his head again, earning a contemplative look from his youngest and brightest warrior. Thierry sat there for several more seconds before nodding his head slightly. _

"_So you want me there to stop the team if they act on his orders and also protect any HVT's in the area when __**'Loki' **__decides to strike?" _

"_Exactly." _

"_Not trying to sound big-headed or anything but this is some serious commitment to this region. Mind telling me why?" _

_Azazel grinned ever so slightly as he sat forward in his chair and steepled his hands in-front of his face, switching to his favoured tongue of Japanese. _

"_Tell me Thierry-kun, what do you remember about Kuoh town?"_

* * *

_**(Chapter One: The Jackal and the birth of the Red-Dragon Emperor.)**_

* * *

Sona Sitri let out a weary sigh as she packed away the final book she had been using in her last lesson of the day ; Homer's Iliad. Despite what the general school populace said about the Sitiri heiress, even she felt the effects of a long school day like her friend Rias.

Sona herself was a rather petite girl; standing at only 5'6 and with a moderately sized bust, she wasn't exactly the curviest of girls around. But what she lacked in such physical areas, she more than made up for in her beauty and her intellect. Her flawless skin was a pale white, her cheekbones high and her eyes a beautiful violet, whilst her intellect ensured that she was always battling for top spot with a certain male student.

'_I hope Tsubaki has gotten a pot tea ready, I could really use one right about now.' _

However, as it was, her queen was not in here to provide her with a calming cup of Jasmine tea, and she still had to keep up her appearance as the infallible Student-Council president. As such, she took several moments to re-organise and smooth out her Kuoh academy uniform (a dark magenta skirt, white/black accented blazer with a ribbon acting as a tie and shoulder cape) and clear her thoughts with a slight shake of the head, causing her bobbed purple hair to bounce lightly at the motion.

Satisfied that she had made herself presentable, the Sitri heiress made her way out and into the corridors of Kuoh academy. Students immediately made to clear her path or at least make it easy for her to pass bye, all whilst uttering 'Goodbye, Kaichou.' Or 'Have a good evening, Shitouri-samma.' It was slightly annoying from time to time, but on a day like today, having a clear run to the Student-Council meeting room was something that she appreciated; something she conveyed by only stopping _occasionally_ to reprimand someone about their uniform or use of vulgar language.

Within minutes she was on the home-stretch to her beloved club-room and her peerage; which meant little more work and relaxing cups of tea…however…

_**Thud. **_

"Kyaaaaa!"

Had the Sitri heiress being paying attention, she would not have walked face-first into a rather large fellow third year. Sona prepared herself for a rather painful impact with the school's finely polished floors by closing her violet eyes to the world, but instead of feeling pain race through her back and head, the young devil heiress found herself jerking to a halt as a rough and calloused hand wrapped around her waist and hauled her to her feet.

"Neh, careful there Shitouri-san. We wouldn't want 'ou using a headache as an excuse for losing to me in ze upcoming chemistry test now, would we?" An all too familiar, slightly accented voice chirped lightly, causing Sona's eyes to snap wide open and be greeted by an all too familiar sight.

The young man who Sona had walked into absolutely towered over the young Sitri heiress by several clear inches. The young man was extremely well built, which was unsurprising given his positon as captain of the school's Rugby squad, and his hulking frame made Sona feel absolutely insignificant physically when she stood next to him. He was an extremely good-looking, if not 'ruggedly handsome', black-haired fellow, with a fair skin-tone which when mixed with a strong and well-defined jawline and cheekbones, served to only accentuate his mysterious and captivating dark-grey eyes.

Said young man was clad in the boy's variation of the school uniform (white/black accented blazer, dress shirt without the ribbon, black dress trousers and black dress shoes), with a few personal modifications of his own; such as blue and red socks and a belt buckle with the word 'Cocky' printed on its red background in pure white.

Just his voice would have been enough for Sona to identify this individual, but when paired with his appearance, there could be no doubt as to her saviour.

"Dusitoir-san."

Pierr Dusitoir was a French ex-patriot who had come to Kuoh academy for his final year of High-school in order to perfect his Japanese for when he applied to Tokyo university. Often known as the 'King of Kuoh' due to his good-looks and unique charm, Pierr was not only an amazing athlete but also a genius who rivalled Sona herself. In fact, the two of them were always competing for the number one spot in their individual subjects as well as on the overall leader-boards.

Sona had first met the Frenchman during a Chemistry lesson, having shared a desk with him for the hour-long practical session. They had made light conversation surrounding the subject, and Sona found herself increasingly surprised by how he managed to keep pace with her during their discussions; even more so when she deliberately strayed onto University level topics.

Following that, she made an effort to talk to him during any lessons she shared with the enigmatic yet brilliant Frenchman. With topics of discussion ranging from classical literature to nuclear physics, Sona could honestly say she found herself enjoying her debates with Dusitoir. Eventually she invited him to sit with her and her peerage at lunch after about a month or so of talking. Naturally her peerage had been shocked when the enigmatic foreigner joined their tightly-knit group for lunch, and thus been somewhat cagey and guarded. But they had more than happily opened up to him after a few more occasions, and he was considered just as much a part of their group as her, despite his fleeting appearances.

The young Sitri heiress would have continued reminiscing, but the laughter of a certain male brought her back to reality.

"What's so funny, Dusitoir?"

"Nozing~!" He said in a sing-song voice, earning a glare from the Sitri heiress as she removed his arms from around her waist, whilst expertly containing the faint blush that was threatening to break out on her face. Despite his occasionally annoying moments, the young man was truly a good source of conversation (even if he did drive her crazy from time to time)…..and potentially a worthwhile recruit for her peerage.

Whether the young man knew it or not, but he held a substantial amount of magical energy within his body; enough reserves to at least match her best friends' queen, Akeno, and quite possibly even more than that. His natural movements didn't speak exactly of combat experience, but she suspected that they held a natural level of survival instinct in them; therefore lending credence to her idea that he _was _a practicing magician of some description. His interaction thus far with her suggested that he had an inclination as towards her position in regards to the supernatural world, but he didn't bring it up simply because he was waiting for her to make the first move.

'_Well we are close to the clubroom…..I may as well begin my efforts to turn him into a member of my peerage.' _

Clearing her throat, the genius heiress of the Sitiri clan turned her attention back towards her male companion and spoke,

"Dusitoir…."

"Maaa~ call me Pierr, Sona-chan. We're friends after all!"

"Pierr-san. I was wondering if you would like a game of chess back at the Council's club room?"

That seemed to catch the young man completely off-guard as his eyes widened from happiness to slight surprise, but he immediately masked his shock with his trademark easy-going smile and mischievous glint in his eyes.

"My, my Sona-chan. Inviting me back to your club room zo soon! If you're not careful the mazzez may start talking about how forward you are with zeir benevolent and magnificent king!" He teased lightly, placing his hands on his hips and turning his head towards the sky in what Sona supposed was meant to be a 'heroic' pose.

Feeling her temper flare slightly at his teasing, the young devil merely glared at him whilst fighting a mild blush that was threatening to colour her cheeks a faint red. When she realised her glare was having no effect, she merely pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a faint sigh.

"Just follow me, Dusitoir….." she paused for several seconds before allowing a flicker of a smile to cross her lips as she spoke, "…and try not to make a fool of yourself over the next one hundred yards if at all possible. But then this is you I am talking about."

Ignoring an indignant squawk of 'HEY!' from the French ex-patriot, Sona lead the 'King of Kuoh' to the large double-doors to her clubroom and pushed them open.

The room itself was far more lavish than other club-rooms in the school, save for the Occult Research club. The east and west walls were dominated by large, ornate widows with seats that were currently gently propped open, allowing a gentle breeze of late spring/ early summer wind to pass through the room. The centre of the room was dominated by three large and clearly very expensive sofas surrounding an ornate coffee table, whilst the north-wall was dominated by a large, heavy and ornate desk and plush chair.

Sona was just about to make her way over to her desk to recover her chess set, but a distinctly feminine voice broke the comfortable silence between the two friends.

"Kaichou I've just finished the….oh, hello Dusitoir-san." Stated a rather surprised looking Tsubaki Shinra. She was a gorgeous raven-haired young woman with a voluptuous figure which was well-accentuated by her school uniform, whilst her pretty green eyes were obscured by her red-framed glasses.

Recovering her composure, Sona's queen quickly offered a curious look to her king. Sona smiled lightly in reply, and a look of understanding passed across her queen's eyes.

"Tsubaki, if you would put the tea on and bring me my chess set I would appreciate it. Oh, and when the others get here, please _make them aware of their_ _paper work._" Sona put extra emphasis on the young last few words of her sentence, whilst cocking her head slightly towards her male companion.

Tsubaki bowed her head slightly whilst a small but genuine smile graced her features.

"Of course, Kaichou."

Sona turned to her friend and gestured towards the middle table with her hand. The lumbering male smiled brightly at her before bringing his hulking frame to a comfortable rest in the left-hand sofa, whilst Sona sat down with far more grace than her male companion.

The two of them sat there comfortably in silence for a few minutes; Pierr taking the time to casually observe the room, whilst Sona was examining the young Frenchman with her cold and calculating gaze.

'_He's not releasing any killer intent, so he has no intention of harming me. And his distinct lack of unrest or concern shows that he's not fussed or worried about me finding out something…."_ However, before the young woman could continue her appraisal of her company, her queen returned with two cups of tea balanced gracefully atop an ornate wooden box and chess-board.

Setting a cup in front of Pierr first and then Sona, Tsubaki the proceeded to swiftly place the chess-board in the middle of the table, before placing the pieces contained within the box onto the board with a speed and grace that only practice could bring about.

Within moments, a full chess-board sat between Sona and Pierr, black for Sona and white for her male friend. Pierr gently picked up his cup and took a sip of the steaming beverage contained within, before letting out a contented sigh as he gently leaned back into his chair.

"Tsubaki-san, zis tea is the _best _I have ever had! Honestly, o' need to give me instructions as to how to make zis." Pierr stated honestly with a small, contented smile on his face, earning a small blush from Tsubaki as she bowed her head in thanks.

"Thank you, Dusitoir-kun. I would be more than happy to give you guidance." The normally strict, calm and proud young half-devil stated with a small amount of timidness creeping into her voice. Pierr merely waved his hand at the girl in a dismissive manner.

"Tsubaki-san, how many times have I told you? Call me Pierr-san for goodness sake. Dusitoir-san or kun was my father." He commented with a friendly smile, earning a slightly larger blush from the young she-devil and a raised eyebrow from Sona.

'Was _your father? Hmmm, I wonder why he uses the past tense….unless …..' _Realisation struck the Sitri heiress like lightning, causing her eyes to widen slightly and forced her to take a sip of her tea in order to avoid letting her friend see her frown. After all, his words could ultimately mean one of two things, and as far as Sona could tell, given his mannerisms, she could only honestly say she trusted one of her logical leaps.

But for now she wouldn't push the issue. If she needed to ask then she would, but for now she wouldn't. If her friend wanted to talk about this issue, then he would when he felt comfortable enough to tell her. After all, it wasn't her place to pry into her friends past if he wanted to keep it quiet and it didn't pose a threat to her peerage or her friends.

Letting the matter file away in her brain for future use, Sona turned her attention to the chess-board in-front of her and spoke up.

"So, Pierr-san, it would seem as if it is your move."

Said boy smiled slightly before picking up the King piece on the table in-front of him and rolling it in-between finger and thumb. He sat there for a while casually observing the piece with a fierce intensity before finally setting the piece back on its square. He then gripped both sides of the chess-board and casually turned the board around until the black pieces were on his side and the white pieces on Sona's side.

"I must insist zat o' go first, Sona-san."

"Why's that?"

"My mozzer always taught me to be polite."

"Manners will get you no-where in this room, you know?"

"You'd be surprised, Sona-san…"

Said girl smiled slightly at her friends words before spending a few seconds observing the board, swiftly formulating an opening strategy before placing her hand on the furthest right pawn.

"You've made a mistake letting me go first, Pierr-san." She stated confidently as her French friend smiled thinly at her words, before gracefully placing his hand atop his middle pawn and moving it forward two places.

"I don't think so Sona-san."

"And why is that?" Sona asked, genuinely curious as she moved another pawn forward in an attempt to trigger the required response from her opponent. Said young man merely hovered his hand over the logical piece to move (and naturally the one Sona wanted him to move.).

However, the young Sitri heiress found herself once again surprised by her friend as he moved a completely different pawn forward, throwing the majority of Sona's plan out of the window.

All whilst smiling and saying….

"You're not ze only chess fanatic in ze room."

* * *

**_(With 'Pierr Dusitoir', two hours later, unknown street.)_**

Thierry let out a small sigh of relief as he felt the familiar that had been following him disappear finally, after almost twenty minutes of following him after he had changed out of his academy uniform at school and into far more comfortable jeans, sketchers, t-shirt and hoodie, basking in the pleasure of forcing a draw out of the slightly arrogant Sitri heiress.

'_Finally. It's making my blood fucking _boil _having to be near those fucking Devils for so long.' _Thierry thought to himself bitterly as he slowly trudged down a non-descript road as night slowly descended upon the town of Kuoh. It had been about four months since Azazel sent him here on a recon operation to discover why the team he had sent out to this god-forsaken shite-hole had gone dark whilst pretending to actually care for the people in this town and those he talked to.

Four months of dealing with the only species he hated more than Angels.

Devils.

All the bloody _animals _ever did was cause mayhem and misery, ruining people's lives with their greed and constant desire to flaunt their superiority. It was because of these _beasts _that he had been raised in hell-on-Earth….it was because of them that the man who saved his miserable life died and left him alone.

'_And then there's God's little helpers. HA! Those lazy bastards have no interest in protecting the world of men or making sure that we can live our lives free of the supernatural. No, instead they merely sit in Heaven and protect a hypocrite from the scummy Devils and the Fallen…. At least the majority of the Fallen are honest and straight-forward.' _Thierry mused bitterly to himself as he continued his trek back to his temporary accommodation in this town.

'_But what about Sona Sitri and her peerage? They sure seem to break the mould….' _One part of Thierry's mind argued to the currently raging portion of his brain. Said portion of his mind stopped its needless ranting in order to retort.

'_Yeah, because we've allowed them to think we would make a good peerage member, and thus get ourselves into good positions to leave surveillance runes on that little Devil whore.' _

'_Argue all you want. You enjoy her company because it actually gives you an intellectual person to talk to who isn't Azazel.' _The small part of his mind snarked back.

'_Whatever, it doesn't change the fact that she, along with everyone else here, is just a mission.' _Thierry stated within his mind resolutely, clamping down on the rebellious section of his mind before it could actually start formulating arguments he couldn't beat.

He hated Devils and Angels and he forever would. No matter how many exceptions to the species he met, he _refused _to treat them any different, as they more than likely had the ability to be just as cruel and wicked as their normal brethren.

The young man would have continued his brooding and hateful thoughts towards his two 'enemy' factions. But before he could actually truly delve into the true depths of his hatred, Thierry's hyper-sensitive ears caught the faintest of cries in this distance, and it immediately put him on edge. After all, with the amount that Issei Hyodo was reduced into a screaming mess when the Kendo club went to town on him, Thierry had quickly committed the young man's screams to memory.

Immediately, the young man set off at speeds that humans could only ever dream of achieving as he forced a small amount of magic into his body to re-inforce it and push it beyond mortal limitations. Within moments he had covered several blocks and was getting closer and closer to the sounds of hysterical, maniacal laughter and pained yelps, and it only took several more seconds for the young hit-man to reach the street where the sounds were originating from.

What he came across was arguably the most pathetic sight he had ever seen.

One Issei Hyodo, resident pervert of Kuoh academy was currently lying on the floor with blood flowing from a rather large gash in his right leg. The young boy wasn't anything special; brown hair and eyes, average looks and wearing the bog-standard Kuoh academy uniform….aside from being the host to the Red-Dragon, Boosted Gear and a new-born devil of Rias Greymory's peerage as of yesterday when he was killed by one of the recon team he had been assigned to keep tabs on.

And he was also a massive pervert.

'_My god, Vali is going to be so disappointed if this is supposed to be the legendary Red-Dragon Emperor.' _Thierry thought to himself casually before turning his attention to the second figure in the middle of the road.

His assailant was a middle-aged, handsome looking man. He wore a long trench-coat and fedora hat that obscured the mop of blond hair on his head, whilst his violet eyes complemented his outfit in their shade. His right hand sat a sickly-yellow spear of light, whilst an insane grin was plastered on his face.

Despite having never met the man in his life, Thierry immediately knew who he was, thanks to the dossier provided to him by Azazel.

'_Dondesheek; one set of wings but high stamina. He's tied for second strongest in the recon team with Kalawarmer. An absolute battle-maniac of the worst kind, he relies on ranged attacks to deal with his foes…and he massively over-estimates his own strength.' _

Information at hand, Thierry snapped back to reality just as about the rouge-Fallen was about to impale the poor newly-reincarnated devil. Acting on instinct and his orders, the right-hand of the Viceroy quickly summoned his magical energy and sent a wave of crimson flames as his opponent. Slow enough to dodge but fast enough so that his opponent wouldn't be able to launch his attack at Hyodo.

The battle-crazed Fallen-Angle leapt away from the crimson flames, the tips of which barely missed licking the tip of his coat.

Landing, the Fallen immediately turned his attention from his prey to the new-comer, as did Issei.

"Well, well well, what do we have here? A lost magician?" Dondesheek asked casually with a small crazed grin on his face as he took several steps forward, causing Thierry to meet him step for step whilst Issei sat there gaping like a fish as he watched Thierry casually coat his arms in a thick blanket of flames before supplying the Fallen with his cover identity.

"Pierr Dusitoir; Kuoh's resident magician, at your zervice Mr….."

"Dondesheek of the Grigori, Dusitoir-san." Dondesheek supplied helpfully, earning a small nod from Thierry as he moved closer to Issei in order to protect the newly re-incarnated devil. Standing in-front of his opponent, Thierry sent him a slightly condescending look before speaking up.

"I do 'ope you know zat I can't let 'ou kill him, non?" He asked casually as he flared his magical power threateningly, hoping to not only get the man to back off, but also get the local devils attention and thus get them moving (if they weren't already).

However, it seemed like Thierry wasn't going to get out of the situation without a fight.

"I do hope you can appreciate that I can't let _either _of you live!" Dondesheek snarled as he summoned two spears of light to his hands before launching one forward and keeping the second one in his hand as he charged forward, summoning his nightmare-black wings to propel himself faster.

Thierry casually dismissed the thrown weapon with a flick of his right hand, before charging forward to meet Dondesheek's charge. Ducking under the man's first wild stab, Thierry quickly delivered a swift hook combo to the man's ribs before rolling out of the way of a downwards stab that would have impaled him.

Backing up, Thierry was immediately forced to lazily dodge several thrown spears, before blocking the fifth with a small wall of flames, which he immediately sent towards Dondesheek. The man let out a small scoff before taking to the air with his wings. He made to taunt, but was cut off when the wall of flames suddenly changed direction and headed straight for the now air-borne fallen.

With a surprised yelp, the man barely managed to summon a shield of light to block the ferocious firestorm that followed him up several moments later. A huge explosion filled the sky, covering the surrounding several blocks' sky, polluting the air with hot ash and smoke.

A moment later and the air was cleared again by a shockwave as Dondesheek smashed into the middle of the road, leaving a small indentation where he crashed, along with several spider-web like cracks snaking away from the point of origin.

The man let out a groan that quickly turned into a yelp as a huge, red-hot fireball roared down from the sky with a furious vengeance. The Fallen Angle scrambled to his feet and dived out of the way just as the fire smashed into the road where he had stood not moments before. Diving back to his feet, Dondasheek brought another light-spear to bear and shakily stood in a basic stance as Thierry casually strolled from his owns flames.

'_Poor fool is on his last legs…. I should finish this off…..and at least make it look realistic._' Thierry thought to himself as he flared the limited amount of reserves he was allowed to use in order to maintain his cover, summoning an large and imposing magical circle in-front of his body. The circle was easily large enough to cover his opponent, and Dondesheek flared what little magic his battered body could summon in an effort to protect himself from the gargantuan attack now directed at him.

However, before Thierry could burn the poor man alive, a spear of light flew past his head and before he could react, the French ex-patriot found himself diving to the left in order to avoid a mini barrage of light-based weaponry.

Landing on his feet, the young man turned his attention to the three new figures that had joined the fight.

The first was a short, petite blond girl who looked no older than thirteen years old and wore a gothic lotilla outfit, whilst her face was set in a somewhat sadistic grin as she watched her male comrade. The second woman was what one could only describe as a 'bomb-shell', long blue hair, angelic features, captivating violet eyes and a curvaceous and sexy figure that was barely covered by the short-cut trench coat and mini-skirt she wore.

The last woman though, was the one that truly caught his attention.

Like the second figure, she was far taller than her first companion and appeared to be about eighteen or nineteen years of age. Her eyes were a gorgeous shade of violet and her hair as black as night. Her figure was literally the definition of 'sin' ; perfectly sized and proportional breasts and hips and absolutely flawless skin was only made even sexier by the scanty and rather revealing leather outfit she wore, as it served to only enhance her natural beauty.

Thierry, of course knew who they were (going from the short one to the sex-bomb): Mittelt, Kalawarmer and Raynare.

A tense standoff developed between the opposing sides as Dondesheek managed to force his broken and battered form into the air, precariously hanging next to his allies. Mittelt sneered at him as Kalawarmer grabbed his arms and threw one over her shoulder. Eventually after a few moments, the vindictive looking blond spoke up.

"Fuckin hell Dondesheek. I knew you were weak, but to get your arse handed to you by a human? I didn't think you could sink any lower!" She sneered at him, earning the petite blond a feeble attempt at the bird by the offended man, whilst Kalawarmer glowered at her.

"You seem to forget that two of our organisations strongest members are humans." She sneered at the girl, earning a glare from aforementioned girl. But before the pint-sized Fallen could retort, Raynare spoke up.

"Shut up, you fools! In case you haven't noticed, we've still got company. We'll deal with Dondesheek's insubordination later." She growled out, earning a nod from Kalawarmer and a huff from Mittelt. Turning her attention ground-wards, she found Thierry staring at the three of them with a bored look in his eyes.

"If you four are done having your domestic, I suggest you get out of 'ere."

"Or what?" Raynare growled as she summoned a spear of light into each hand. Thierry merely coated his arms in fire whilst narrowing his eyes.

"Well, aside from moi roasting you alive…"

"We'll have something to say about your presence here, fallen Angle-san."

'_Perfect timing.' _

Thierry turned his gaze slightly towards the newest voices and was greeted by the sight of Sona and Tsubaki standing next to her greatest friend and rival; Rias Gremory.

Kuoh academy's number one idol was truly a drop-dead gorgeous woman. A curvaceous figure (which was currently well accentuated by her tight-fitting uniform), gorgeous face and long, luscious hair that added a certain exotic air to her ensured that male (and sometimes female) heads turned wherever she went.

She was naturally followed by her peerage: her raven haired, curvaceous and drop-dead gorgeous Queen Akeno Himejima stood to her right. Her knight, the academy's resident blond, curvy and sexy princesses Yumi Kiba stood to the right whilst the school petiete white haired, petite mascot Koneko Tojou was in the process of a protesting Issei _over her shoulder. _

'_Huh, must be a rook.' _Thierry thought to himself off-handedly as he dusted his shoulder off lightly before speaking up.

"I waz wondering when 'ou would appear, Sitri-san, Gremory-san." He stated calmly, now refusing to allow his eyes to wonder away from his three opponents. After a tense few seconds, a magic circle sprung to life underneath the Fallen Angles and lead to them vanishing in a flash of light.

After a few moments, and he was certain they had actually gone, he let out a small breath and turned his gaze fully on the latest additions…and almost lashed out.

'_It would be just so easy to kill them. All it would take is the wave of my hand and I could cripple the future of so many filthy devils…..' _Subconsciously he began to build up his magical energy on a level they wouldn't be able to notice until it was too late.

'_Their kind causes nothing but suffering and misery! All they do is ruin the lives of humans and then force them into their 'peerages' to serve as slaves….it's not right. I can make a difference here and free those poor brain-washed fools.' _

'_It would be so easy.'_

'_Calm down. Remember Azazel's orders; we are to ensure the survival of the Sitiri and Greymory groups no matter what. And no matter your personal feelings, no matter how unethical or deplorable….' _

"_Orders are orders." _Thierry muttered to himself as he forced his magical power to recede back into the depths, closing his eyes and taking several deep and calming breaths in order to ensure he wouldn't start throwing magical spells around.

After several moments, Thierry opened his eyes and forced the persona of 'Pierr Dusitoir' to the surface as he spoke.

"Well az much as I love ze fresh air, I zink it would be prudent to go somewhere a little more private, non?"

* * *

**_(Half an hour later, Occult Research Club-room.)_**

Thierry sat in a chair in the main base of operations for the Gremory peerage in the old school building. It was designed in a very similar fashion to the Student Council's room; as in it looked like it belonged in a small country manor as opposed to a school building.

The room itself was a lot darker than the Student Council room, with only the west wall sporting large windows with seats (and were currently closed). The east wall was absolutely dominated by swathes upon swathes of books and book-cases, whilst the centre of the room was filled by three extremely plush and expensive sofas around a heavy oak table.

In the corner of the room was a door that apparently lead to the Greymory's private quarters in building, and (rather oddly) a shower and shower curtain.

Thierry sat with one arm on the arm of the sofa with its back to the window, propping his head up whilst his left hand drummed rhythmically against the back of his phone that was currently resting on his thigh. He, along with the entirety of the Greymory peerage and Sona and Tsubaki were currently packed into the room, with Koneko Tojou sitting to his right, Yumi and Tsubaki opposite him, Sona at the head sofa and Akeno off to the side preparing tea.

They were currently awaiting the return of the Greymory heiress and her pawn….and as was common in slightly tense situations, the room was currently permeated by a thick and somewhat uncomfortable near silence…..

_**Tap, Tap, Tap. **_

_**Tap, Tap.**_

_**Tap, Tap, Tap, Tap**_

_**Tap. **_

That would have been a full silence had Thierry stopped drumming on his phone.

Sona looked like she wanted to explode at the under-cover assassin, if her twitching eye-brow was anything to go by. However, before she could unload another verbal triad against Thierry, the door in the corner of the room opened to reveal a rather shell-shocked looking Issei and his new master, Rias Gremory.

'_Huh, the bitch must have broken the news to him in-private so he didn't break-down in public and appear even more pathetic than he already is.' _The right hand of Azazel mused to himself as the 'Crimson-haired Ruin princess' made her way over to the sofa and a comfortable seat next to her childhood friend/ rival (a dynamic that Thierry could not understand the mechanics behind) before turning her attention to Thierry.

"So, Dusitoir-san…."

"Do you mind if I speak in French?" He interjected immediately, earning a slightly annoyed look from Rias, but the young girl nodded none-the-less.

'_If I'm going to be dealing with these pieces of scum, I may as well deal with them in a civilized tongue.' _The young assassin thought to himself, happy to abuse the Devil's natural ability to speak and understand any language.

"So," Rias began again, "It would seem as if you are a rather accomplished magician, eh Dusitoir-san."

"_That I am. Allow me to re-introduce myself," _Here he paused as he put his phone in his pocket and stood up, coating his entire body in a thin veil of flames that flickered and danced around his form whilst summoning up the persona of Pierr.

"_My name is Pierr Dusitoir; Kuoh town's resident master magician and expert kick-ass . At your service, Heir Greymory, Heir Sitri." _His tone was as formal and refined as he could make it when addressing devils. After a moment he willed the flames to dissipate and returned to his seat; Rias giggling at his introduction and Sona rubbing the bridge of her nose whilst her lips quirked ever so slightly in amusement.

"Ara, Ara Dusitoir-kun, you have quite the opinion of yourself." Akeno commented teasingly as she began offering tea to everyone in the room, starting with Thierry, whilst Yumi chuckled to herself at the look on the young man's face.

"_I don't have a high opinion of myself. I only state facts when I introduce myself." _Pierr commented offhandedly, earning a giggle from Akeno, Yumi and Rias and a small smile from Tsubaki and Son. Akeno looked like she was ready to retort, but before she could say anything, Rias stepped in.

"As much fun as this is, I think we all know that we have slightly more pressing issues to deal with right now."

"_Indeed."_ Thierry nodded in agreement, and all of a sudden Rias' expression hardened and Sona stiffened her posture and her thin smile vanished completely.

"Care to explain why a powerful magician who is obviously aware of who we are snuck into our school and tried to avoid detection?" Sona asked in a voice as cold as ice, whilst Rias nodded in agreement before adding her own two cents to the discussion.

"A brilliant magician who tried to play off his own powers and skills by pretending to be a human with the _potential _to be brilliant." Rias added whilst narrowing her eyes slightly. Thierry let out a small sigh as he looked around the room, taking note of the various members of Rias' peerage as they tensed up in what he assumed they thought was a 'subtle' manner, whilst Sona and Rias tried to 'subtly' gather their demonic power, whilst Issei sat there literally frozen to the spot by the rising hostility in the room.

Thierry had to restrain himself from lashing out at them with his own absolutely crushing magical pressure; after all…..

'_Orders are Orders….no matter how I feel about them.' _

So, taking a deep breath, the greatest weapon of the Grigori waited for several seconds before forcing 'Pierr' to diffuse the situation.

"_Mah~ you guys need to relax. It wasn't so I could kill you ('Unfortunately'), but simply avoid any attempts by you to add me to your peerage straight away." _

"Why?" Sona asked immediately. Thierry turned his bored gaze towards her before he replied.

"_Because I didn't know your characters. I didn't want to come in shouting 'Oi, potentially manipulative and evil devil-women; I, the awesome Pierr Dusitoir, a wonderful magician, shall be attending you school!'. It could have landed me in a shit-tone of trouble." _

"Why not go elsewhere?"

"Unlike you, I need to get through school here in the human world. And I refuse to get a second-class education."

The two devil heiresses appeared rather surprised by his apparent honesty. It wasn't an out and out lie but it wasn't the whole truth…and that was why it was so easy to convince these fools. By telling a technical half-truth, Thierry would stop himself from displaying a 'tell' (the giveaway everyone has when they lie), and thus avoid any further suspicion.

He watched as Rias' expression softened a little and a small smile played at her rouged lips.

"Makes sense, I suppose. What do you think Sona?"

The Sitiri heiress kept her eyes trained on the young man in question for several more moments before nodding her head.

"I agree. It looks like Dusitoir-san is telling the truth."

Thierry smirked inwardly to himself as they brought his act; hook, line and sinker.

'_Too easy.' _He thought to himself, but before he could begin mentally insulting the devils surrounding him, Thierry was brought out of his mind by the voice of the gorgeous Gremory heiress, much to the chagrin of her childhood friend.

"So, Dusitoir-san, now that's dealt with, I have another question."

"_What?_"

"Will you join my peerage?"

Almost immediately, Pierr's entire frame tensed and his breathing hitched in his throat; before his mind exploded in a fit of anger.

'_That…..that…THAT LITTLE FUCKING BITCH! HOW DARE SHE TRY TO TAINT MY BLOOD WITH HER KIND'S FILTH! I'LL FUCKING KILL HER! I'LL RIP THEIR HEADS OFF AND SEND THEM TO THEIR GOD-DAMNED PARENTS!' _His entire form was subtly shaking and his hands had clenched his fists, doing everything he possibly could to keep his face clear of any form of rage or hatred. However, it proved to be a losing battle as he slowly felt his body subtly building up his magical energy and he felt his facial muscles twitch closer and closer to an angry snarl.

Despite the apoplectic rage boiling beneath the surface, the young magician/assassin managed to keep his voice neutral as he spoke.

"I….must decline your offer for now and the foreseeable future."

Downing what was left of his tea and getting to his feet, the right-hand of Azazel swiftly made his way to the door before calling over his shoulder.

"_Thank you for the tea, but I have several new formulas at home I need to finish."_

And with that he closed the door and made his way to the exit, before sprinting off into the night-time.

* * *

**_(1 hour later, Underground training facility, Thierry's base in Kuoh.)_**

**BOOM! **

**BOOOOOOOM! **

**BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! **

Had the room Thierry Blanc been in not hand numerous built-in seals, the entirety of Kuoh town would have been in uproar as the ground would have been shaking with the intensity of a class 5 earthquake.

The reason?

One extremely pissed-off French assassin.

Currently, Thierry was abusing the terrain of his personal training facility (an adaptable environment simulator that was currently set to a rather bland, rocky-desert look). The entire floor had been virtually obliterated by the last spell the young man had launched as he continued to vent his rage at the words of Rias.

'Will you join my peerage?'

'_Like FUCK will I!' _The young Frenchman roared in his mind as he unleashed another gargantuan wave of white-hot flames at a rocky formation some fifty meters away. The attack carved a trench into the ground as it roared towards it target at impossible speeds before colliding with the formation.

**BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! **

Thierry growled as a gargantuan cloud of dust and debris rolled towards him. With a flick of his left hand, a huge air-current collided with the impending cloud and dispersed it with little effort, revealing the crater left in the wake of Thierry's rage-induced attack. It was some twenty meters wide and about eight or nine deep, and plenty of the near-silver flames were still burning in small patches throughout the crater.

'_Who does she think she is to try and enslave me! I am a human and that is that. I don't want to taint my blood with something as scummy as a devils', why would anyone sane of thought?' _A small part of Thierry's mind argued that there was nothing malicious or evil behind the girls offer; but it wouldn't be heard whilst Thierry was in this state.

Hell, nothing logical would reach Thierry when he got like this. Sure he hated Devils and Angles, the stupid and the weak. But to work Thierry into the state he was in right now, you really had to know what angered him as a person. And as far as lists go, it was a very short one:

Devil reincarnation.

His _old _life.

The death of his master.

Each one of them set his blood alight and turned his vision red for hours, sometimes days on end. Each one of those things had caused incalculable amounts of damage to Thierry, either physiologically, physically or both. Each one turned the normally cold and calculating young man into a snarling, raging, blood-thirsty beast hell-bent on slaughtering those who dragged up his most painful memories.

And given the state he was in right now….

**BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! **

It was going to be quite some time before he finally calmed down enough to think logically.

* * *

**_(A week later, outside Kuoh academy; end of the day)_**

Thierry set off from his final lesson a lot quicker than he usually did today, intent on getting home as quickly as possible in order to avoid the action that was going to break out tonight.

After spending almost two days letting off steam in his training facility, Thierry re-surfaced and went back to school, where Sona grilled him as to his where-bout's for the school-days he had missed, he simply deflected by claiming he had to finish several important magical theorems and simply lost track of time (hence his slightly haggard appearance). At first it looked like the girl wasn't going to buy it at all, but after a while she relented and treated him as normal; something that he was grateful for after the Gremory's question, even if he would never admit it.

And whilst it was obvious that she wished to have him as a member of her peerage, she respected his request and kept quiet….unlike Gremory.

Thierry had lost count of the number of times he had almost incinerated the girl as she continued to try and make up 'lost ground' in an effort to secure his loyalty. Several times, Sona had stepped in and started an argument with her rival in what seemed like an effort to give Thierry a chance to make a break for it….again something that he was grateful for (in some very dark, dank and closed off portion of his fractured and unstable mind).

After the second day she backed-off, and Thierry was able to keep his ear to the ground again.

It turned out that the Hyodo boy had managed to run into a former Nun by the name of Asia Argento; the wielder of the sacred gear Twilight healing. The idiot had then proceeded to guide her to the local church, before discovering during a botched contract that she was now the prisoner of the local Fallen Angle contingent.

Running into one-another again the following day, the two had 'hung-out' before Asia was collected by Millet and Dondesheek (who had given Hyodo quite the ass-kicking.).

Earlier today, the boy had tried to get his master to launch an attack against the church in-order to rescue his friend; but she had refused due to the potential political ramifications (which was actually a fair enough reason, Thierry would grudgingly admit), even if the girl was to be sacrificed in order to extract her sacred gear.

_Tonight. _

However, the perverted idiot had managed to somehow convince Yumi Kiba and Koneko Tojou into a hair-brained rescue plan.

Hence Thierry's accelerated pace. He knew that aside from Raynare, none of the recon team was strong enough to take down the Gremory group individually, and as such, if he wanted to recover them before they were killed, he'd have to move out right away.

However, before he could break away and set off at a jog to his house, he was stopped by a surprisingly strong grip.

Looking to his right, Thierry had to suppress a snarl of frustration as Koneko held onto his arm and Yumi and Issei stood off to the side. The brown-haired pervert moved forward slightly as he began speaking.

"Dusitoir-san, I know you're not a member of Bucchou's peerage, but we could really do with your help." He stated sombrely. Thierry forced himself to adopt his operational persona, and nodded his head ever so slightly, indicating for the boy to go on.

He went on a five or so minute re-counting of the past few days, irritating Thierry deeply with his inane comments and tendency to stray onto perverted topics (which Koneko punished with punches/kicks/stomps). Eventually though, after the newly discovered Red-Dragon-Emperor had finished, Thierry could only offer one reply.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot help 'ou." He told the young boy with as much fake sincerity as he could muster. Hyodo looked at the right-hand of Azazel with absolute shock and disbelief before his face contorted into a rage-fuelled expression.

"H….how…..how the hell can you say that you bastard!" He roared, earning a small sigh from the young French ex-patriot, before speaking up.

"Hyodo you 'ave to understand my position. As a solo, uncontracted magician, I cannot afford to get caught up in ze affairs of the three factions."

"WHY THE HELL NOT?"

"Because Dusitoir-san would essentially be signing his own death warrant." Yumi intoned seriously, her face dark and her normally gorgeous features scrunched up into a scowl, earning a confused look from Issei and a 'thankful' one from Thierry. Yumi looked to Koneko, who continued the explanation in her usual monotone.

"Because Pervert-Senpai ("Oi!"), Dusitoir-Senpai is not affiliated to any faction."

"So?"

"So if I get involved I may as well stick a fucking neon sign above my 'ead saying 'kill me'. Zis is a faction dispute, and because I don't belong to any of them I can be killed without reprisal." Thierry added bluntly, earning a shocked look from Issei.

"Eh? But surely Prez would help if you asked!"

"Why would she? I'm a nobody to her. I'm not a member of her peerage nor am I contracted to her, so I will find no solace from her or Sitri-san." He explained slowly, earning a flabbergasted look from Hyodo.

With a small sigh, he (reluctantly) patted the boy on the shoulder as he walked past …

"Like I said, I'm zorry."

* * *

**_(Three hours later, abandoned church, Outskirts of Kuoh_)**

Issei Hyodo collapsed to his knees as his one-time girlfriend and killer, Raynare, smashed into the opposite wall with a sickening thud before slowly slipping to the floor whilst his

'_Finally, some justice.' _Issei thought to himself as he let out a contented sigh, slipping down next to a Pugh with a small smile gracing his features…..even though he had failed Asia….. he'd at least done something right for once and dealt with that bitch once and for all. He sat there for a while, enjoying the silence as he waited for his comrades to finish up, allowing his mind to slowly break down as the impact of not only his success but also his failure finally, truly caught up to him.

It started off with little more than a single tear, but before long it was a full-blown river flowing from both his eyes. He didn't make a single sound as he sat there, tears pouring down his face as he silently wept.

He wept for his fucked-up first love.

He wept for his lost humanity.

But most of all….

He wept for Asia.

"I'm so sorry…." He mumbled to himself as he buried his face into his knees and wrapped his arms around them. He had been that girls first true friend, her ONLY friend and he had let her down when she truly needed him. He'd felt so useless when he'd seen her upon on that cross as Raynare extracted her Sacred Gear, and even more so when he saw her eyes as the light left them.

"Damn it all."

"Indeed, it hasn't exactly been a great night, has it." A distinctly female voice called out, causing Issei to break out of his lamenting.

His master, Rias Gremory stood there with the rest of her peerage, each of them with an understanding look plastered on their face, even the normally stoic Koneko's façade had cracked ever so slightly and a look of understanding passed over her eyes.

Forcing his battered body to its feet, Issei caught himself on the Pugh before having his arm thrown over Yumi's shoulder. Rias smiled slightly at the sight before her eyes turned towards the fallen form of Raynare and her look hardened.

"And now there's only one thing left to do."

Marching straight over to the Fallen's form, Rias indicated for her queen to wake their final 'target' of the night up. A quick splash of water later and the young woman was wide-awake and her eyes wide with fear. Rias' eyes narrowed and her aura quickly began building.

"Fallen Angle Raynare, for your actions against my peerage, you have condemned yourself to death. Do you have any final words?" She asked in a tone as cold as ice, freezing Issei solid. The pathetic young Fallen's face fell as she looked at the floor; as if she had lost everything that truly mattered in her word.

"Just do it."

With a nod, the 'Crimson-haired ruin princess' unleashed a wave of the infamous Bael power of destruction; a wave of pure black and red energy that began consuming everything and anything in its path, causing Raynaray to close her eyes and await her impending doom.

Time seemed to slow as the energy crept within two meters of the girl. But before it had a chance to strike her form, another figure flickered into existence in-front of her, and with his right hand, formed a magical circle before batting the wave of destruction away as it were a mere annoyance.

Every single person of the Gremory peerage stood there with wide eyes as the took in the appearance of this new-comer.

His figure was powerfully built and towered over everyone else in the room at 6'3. His muscular frame was clad in black, fire-proof covers and his torso, shoulders and arms protected by Samurai looking armour. His face was completely hidden by a Ninja-style mask with a skull painted on the metal face-plate covering his lower face and his eyes concealed by a pair of blacked-out ballistic goggles.

Eventually, after what seemed like an age, the young devils recovered enough from their shock to ready themselves for battle. Yumi summoned one of her many demonic swords (whilst dropping Issei to the floor), Akeno charged lightning around her form and Koneko lifted a Pugh to throw, whilst Rias coldly started down the newest threat in the room.

"Who are you?" She immediately demanded, her voice taking on a steely edge that Issei thought impossible for his kind and warm master. It was the sort of tone of voice that would freeze the souls of almost anyone and make their will crumble faster than a house of cards in the wind. But despite this, it appeared as if this new-comer was completely unaffected as he responded in an accent Issei couldn't identify.

"_Don't point those pox_y weapons at me." He growled in a voice that was barely above a whisper, causing Issei's blood to freeze in terror. He thought he had felt fear when he had been at deaths door, when Dondesheek had attacked him and he had fought Raynare; but none of this compared to the fear he felt as this _thing _unleashed its presence.

It was as if the source of all the fear and angst; hatred and rage had wrapped itself around Issei's soul and was slowly choking what little bravery the young man had out of his body. Ever sense was dulled to the world around him like he had stood in the bitter cold of winter for too long; save for when they were focused upon the masked figure.

'_What…..what is this feeling? Why do I feel so afraid…so alone? Why am I so scared? He's just one man! I, I can't move…..oh fuck…..why can't I feel anything! What the hell is going on!' _Issei's body broke out into a heavy sweat as his entire from began shivering from the oppressive aura, his body literally shutting down in an effort to preserve his mind from the psychological damage the aura was beginning to inflict on the Boosted-Gear wielder.

However, as a light made itself vaguely present in his line of sight, Issei Hyodo felt the fear of hell itself slowly seep from the room like tainted blood from a wound; agonizingly slowly.

Slowly but surely.

Following a flash of light, the feeling began to fade at a much greater rate, thus allowing Issei's sense and bodily functions to return…and as he became aware of his terror-struck comrades and the surrounding area, Issei couldn't help but notice one thing.

The masked figure and Raynare were _gone. _

* * *

**A/N:**

**Annnnnnnnnnnnnd done. **

**Yeah, I went there. Fem! Kiba for the win guys! **

**To be honest I had planned on leaving Yuuto as a secure (if somewhat annoying) man, but after careful consideration (and a need to fuck with your heads), I decided that this would be a good thing for the story. Fem! Kiba is one that often goes unused in terms of gender-bendings in fanfiction and I have never truly understood why. **

**Gender-bend Sasuke and you're a frickin' genius. **

**Gender-bend Yuuto Kiba and you're a fucking monster. **

**Well I've stuck my neck out, now it's just time to see the response. Aside from that the only other thing that has me worried (much like last time) is the condensing of an entire arc into one chapter. The Raiser arc is spread out across four chapter at the moment, and is set for release either tomorrow or Sunday (depending) as a complete set if you guys would like it! I will put up a pol for you guys and leave it for 16 or so hours before I make my decision. **

**But, anyways, enough on my worrying for now. **

**You've just seen a new ability of Thierry's that you've not seen before, so, I've decided to create a little 'armoury' where you can have a detailed explanation of abilities of those I don't cover in the story. **

**So here it is: **

* * *

**ARMOURY: **

**DEAD-MAN'S AURA: This is an ability unique to Thierry. Unlike the vast majority of the Supernatural world who use 'Killer Intent', our Frenchman uses a far more devastating and terrifying technique. **

**The Dead-Man's Aura is the literal projection of the accumulated fear, pain, rage and hatred that Thierry has experienced over his life-time. Had he not lived the life he has, this technique wouldn't be a millionth as effective as it actually is. If unleashed to its fullest potential and directed enough by Thierry at a weak opponent, he can literally drive a weak-willed or powered opponent to suicide. **

**To date, only Thierry and his deceased master are thought to have been able to use this ability.**

* * *

**Pretty neat ability, huh? **

**Don't worry, this is only one of Thierry's wide-ranging and powerful abilities. Nothing else needs covering for now, so I'll put a cap on that and move onto the next tid-bit for this A/N. **

**Harems. **

**As promised, below is Issei's harem. Hopefully this will allow you to start guessing Thierry's harem. **

* * *

**Issei's Harem:**

**Asia **

**Rias**

**Koneko**

**Irina **

**Xenovia **

**Le Fay **

**Jeanne **

**Tsubasa **

* * *

**As with Thierry this is subject to change if I feel different dynamics will work better or you guys aggravate me enough….but I am dead set of several members of Thierry's harem. Not just because I love the characters (although that plays a part), but because it works for the plot….**

**And as for Thierry, I don't have any updates for you…for now. **

**Now with all of that done, all I have left is to say is; Tell me what went well and what went not so well by dropping a review. If you want to keep up with the story then perhaps drop a fave or a like (or maybe even both). **

**And of course, Keep it real like a Ninja. **

**Peace, **

**MetalGearMantis. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors Notes = A/N**

"Normal Speech."

'_Thoughts." _

"_Foreign Language." _

"_**Sacred Gears/Weapon spirits speech." **_

'_**Sacred Gear/ Weapon spirits thoughts." **_

* * *

**A/N: And here's chapter 3! **

**Okay, so not much has changed with this chapter; I've mostly just focused on a few SPaG issues and what not, but the majority of the content is the same. Also this is a single Chapter update, as I want to make a few extra changes for the next chapter. **

**Now, as a quick side note, I noticed one or two reviews (and I have received several PM's) asking me whether or not I will be adding Yumi (Fem! Kiba) to the harem. To be honest I don't really know just yet. As such I have put a poll on my profile as to whether or not Yumi should feature in Thierry's harem. **

**Oh, and speaking of Harem's…..**

* * *

**Here's a Harem update: **

**Kuroka **

**Raynare **

**?**

**?**

**?**

**?**

**?**

**?**

* * *

**As you can see, a new person has been added to this list aside from Raynare; who I here you ask?**

**Not telling. **

**Hahahahahahaha! **

***Ahem***

**Any-ways, enough childish teasing from me. **

**LET'S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD!**

* * *

_Disclaimer: I would like to clearly state that I do not own (and more than likely never will) Highschool DxD. The rights to said series belongs to their rightful owners. I merely own the intellectual property rights of my OC, Thierry Blanc. I do not, nor ever intend to, profit from the writing of this Fanfiction, and I am merely writing it for non-profit entertainment purposes only. _

* * *

_(Last time in: The Jackal of the Grigori). _

"_And now there's only one thing left to do." _

_Marching straight over to the Fallen's form, Rias indicated for her queen to wake their final 'target' of the night up. A quick splash of water later and the young woman was wide-awake and her eyes wide with fear. Rias' eyes narrowed and her aura quickly began building._

"_Fallen Angle Raynare, for your actions against my peerage, you have condemned yourself to death. Do you have any final words?" She asked in a tone as cold as ice, freezing Issei solid. The pathetic young Fallen's face fell as she looked at the floor; as if she had lost everything that truly mattered in her word. _

"_Just do it." _

_With a nod, the 'Crimson-haired ruin princess' unleashed a wave of the infamous Bael power of destruction; a wave of pure black and red energy that began consuming everything and anything in its path, causing Raynare to close her eyes and await her impending doom._

_Time seemed to slow as the energy crept within two meters of the girl. But before it had a chance to strike her form, another figure flickered into existence in-front of her, and with his right hand, formed a magical circle before batting the wave of destruction away as it were a mere annoyance. _

_Every single person of the Gremory peerage stood there with wide eyes as the took in the appearance of this new-comer. _

_His figure was powerfully built and towered over everyone else in the room at 6'3. His muscular frame was clad in black, fire-proof covers and his torso, shoulders and arms protected by Samurai looking armour. His face was completely hidden by a Ninja-style mask with a skull painted on the metal face-plate covering his lower face and his eyes concealed by a pair of blacked-out ballistic goggles. _

_Eventually, after what seemed like an age, the young devils recovered enough from their shock to ready themselves for battle. Kiba summoned one of his many demonic swords (whilst dropping Issei to the floor), Akeno charged lightning around her form and Koneko lifted a Pugh to throw, whilst Rias coldly started down the newest threat in the room. _

"_Who are you?" She immediately demanded, her voice taking on a steely edge that Issei thought impossible for his kind and warm master. It was the sort of tone of voice that would freeze the souls of almost anyone and make their will crumble faster than a house of cards in the wind. But despite this, it appeared as if this new-comer was completely unaffected as he responded in an accent Issei couldn't identify. _

"_Don't point those poxy weapons at me." He growled in a voice that was barely above a whisper, causing Issei's blood to freeze in terror. He thought he had felt fear when he had been at deaths door, when Dondesheek had attacked him and he had fought Raynare; but none of this compared to the fear he felt as this thing unleashed its presence. _

_It was as if the source of all the fear and angst; hatred and rage had wrapped itself around Issei's soul and was slowly choking what little bravery the young man had out of his body. Ever sense was dulled to the world around him like he had stood in the bitter cold of winter for too long; save for when they were focused upon the masked figure. _

'_What…..what is this feeling? Why do I feel so afraid…so alone? Why am I so scared? He's just one man! I, I can't move…..oh fuck…..why can't I feel anything! What the hell is going on!' Issei's body broke out into a heavy sweat as his entire from began shivering from the oppressive aura, his body literally shutting down in an effort to preserve his mind from the psychological damage the aura was beginning to inflict on the Boosted-Gear wielder._

_However, as a light made itself vaguely present in his line of sight, Issei Hyodo felt the fear of hell itself slowly seep from the room like tainted blood from a wound; agonizingly slowly. _

_Slowly but surely. _

_Following a flash of light, the feeling began to fade at a much greater rate, thus allowing Issei's sense and bodily functions to return…and as he became aware of his terror-struck comrades and the surrounding area, Issei couldn't help but notice one thing. _

_The masked figure and Raynare were gone._

* * *

_**(Chapter 3: The Fallout and the Strongest Queen).**_

* * *

Raynare collapsed to the floor as the light from the strangers magical circle faded away, her entire form shaking as her eyes focused on the heavy oak flooring as her mind slowly began to catch up with the events of the evening.

'_My god! That, that little perverted bastard almost killed me with that last punch. How the hell did someone like him get one of the most powerful weapons in existence? But that red-haired bitch…oh god she almost killed me and the others….wait…..the others!' _

With a pained groan, the buxom rave-haired fallen managed to lift her bruised and battered form to its feet, before re-focusing her bleary vision on the terrifying visage of her saviour. She watched as he unclasped the sheathed sword on his belt and placed it upon a weapon-stand that sat comfortably atop a heavy wooden dresser, before silently traversing to the opposite side of the room.

The room was extremely simple in its set up; a LED television was attached to a wall via a bracket, whilst a plush leather sofa faced it and two arm-chairs were arranged around a glass coffee table, on which several texts that Raynare couldn't identify the names of sat. The south wall was dominated by a heavy and very full book-case whilst a door on the east wall seemed to lead to the rest of the house.

In the corner of the room was a mannequin, upon which Raynare's fearsome saviour began to rest his armour, taking his time as he carefully and gracefully removed each piece of his armour in silence. After what seemed like an age, but was in reality a few moments, the masked figure finished removing and storing his body-armour, before waving his hand at the mannequin and his weapon on the dresser.

A small magical circle appeared under both items before they both disappeared in a small flash of light, whisking the gear away to wherever the masked man wished them to go. Taking a small breath Raynare made to speak, but before she could say anything, the masked man spoke.

"_Staring is not polite, you know."_

The words snapped the young Fallen out of her stupor, causing her to shake her head as she took a small step backwards. However, unlike a currently traumatised group of Devils, Raynare didn't let the man's imposing nature stop her from finding her voice, no matter how cracked and dry it sounded.

"Where…..where are my friends?" She croaked out, swallowing a small amount of saliva in order to allow her to speak a little more comfortably.

The man let out a small sigh as he slowly made his way over to her, pausing as he reached the sofa, where he sat down upon the arm and crossed his own appendages before directing his cold blue gaze at the young, buxom fallen. But he did not reply.

"Oi, you bastard! I'm talking to you! What the hell happened to my fri – GWACK!" Before the beautiful Fallen could continue her rant, she felt another body fly into her own and wrap their arms around her shoulder before burying their face in the crook of her neck, whilst knocking the wind out of her lungs.

All of a sudden, Raynare let out a squeal of pain as her ribs exploded into agony, causing her vision to go black for several seconds and her eyes to fill with tears. The person who had administered the flying tackle almost immediately let go of the young Fallen and clambered off of her prone form before speaking up.

"Ray-chan! Ray-chan! Oh my god your actually alive, that guy wasn't lying when he told me he was going to save you as well. I would have gone with him but he wouldn't let me or Dondesheek come with him to save you and….and….."

"Jesus Kala-san, give Raynare-san a chance to speak. It's the least you can do after smacking her wounds like that."

'_Those voices! I know them.'_

"Kalawarmer, Dondesheek?" The young Fallen croaked out as her vision was slowly restored, revealing the watery smile and tear-streaked face of Kalawarmer and relieved expression of Dondesheek.

With a lot more care, Kalawarmer gently enveloped her friend in a hug, which Reynaray managed to reciprocate with a little bit of difficulty. After several moments the two broke apart, with Kalawarmer helping Raynare to her feet next to Dondesheek. The three of them broke down into conversation for several moments before Dondesheek spoke up.

"So I guess we have you to thank…." He left the end of his sentence hanging, causing all of the Fallen Angles to turn their attention to their as-of-yet unsung hero.

"_You probably know me by a lot of names ; The Shinigami, The Hungarian Hitman, The German Night-terror….but my most famous of titles? _

_The Jackal." _

Raynare felt her breath hitch in her throat as she heard those two words slip through his lips. Why wouldn't it? After all, anyone who was involved in crime or the supernatural world knew each of those names. Each one was feared throughout the world for the same reasons …but none more than 'The Jackal'.

'The Jackal' only 'appeared' about two years ago, allegedly working for some French gang element that was connected with the Supernatural. Within weeks, corpses were piling up with no witnesses and fear sweeping the people of Europe . No matter how well protected the target or how powerful the foe; they all wound up in a pool of their own blood, sliced to pieces and their security detail annihilated.

"Why the hell did you save us?" Dondesheek asked shakily. The Jackal turned his eyes to the Fallen before speaking up.

"_Because Azazel asked me to step in should you guys overstep your bounds." _

That caused everyone to widen their eyes and let their jaws hang slightly at his words. The Jackal, the most feared Hit-man in the world, _was a Grigori assassin?_ They all stood there in shock, their eyes not moving and their brains struggling to come to terms with this new piece of information. Eventually after several pain-staking moments, Kalawarmer spoke up.

"What do you mean 'overstep our bounds', Jackal-san?" She asked carefully, earning a small sigh of frustration from their masked hero.

"_You honestly believe that Azazel gave the order for you to kill Hyodo? For you to execute a potentially Tier-1 asset and eliminate Vali's rival?"_

Each of them turned their gazes to the floor as the simplistic logic hit them. After several tense moments of silence, Raynare realised that they needed to defend themselves against any potential further accusations.

"Jackal-san_, _Kokabiel-samma told us…"

"_Save it. I know you were acting on what you thought were genuine orders , hence your lack of questioning regarding the sudden change in orders."_ He finished calmly, earning a shaky nod from the young woman. She went to ask another question, but before she could, Dondesheek spoke out into the uncomfortable silence.

"Not trying to pry or anything, Jackal-san, but how-come we haven't ever seen you around the Grigori before?" He asked calmly, earning worried looks from the young women around him that just screamed '_are you fucking TRYING to get us killed you dumb bastard!?' _as the young man in-front of them laughed lightly before reaching for the back of his mask.

When the mask was removed and sat comfortably in his hands, each of them had exactly the same response.

"YOU!"

Each of them had summoned the most powerful light-based weapons that they could into their hands as they took in the form of one Pierr Dusitoir. He sent their weapons a disinterested look before holding the three's terrified gazes with a look that said '_really?'. _After a few moments the three of them began to realise just _who _they were pointing their weapons at, and before long, the three of them had dismissed their weapons and fallen into the seiaze position whist shouting out an apology at the top of their lungs.

"_Get up_."

Immediately the three jumped to their feet (with Raynare wincing and swearing under her breath as she did so) and looked at Pierr as he stood up from the arm of the sofa. Clicking his fingers, the three watched in absolute awe as Pierr's skin tanned and his hair turned into a thick, spiky tuft of sandy-blond hair, whilst his eyes turned from a dark grey into a deep and enchanting blue. He was undeniably handsome, with a strong jaw-line and well-defined cheekbones (a fact that caused both Kalawarmer and Raynare to blush faintly)….and undeniably familiar as well…..

"Wait a second…..your…..your….." Kalawarmer stuttered out before trailing off as she and her fellow fallen angles began to connect all of the dots that they had been given over the past few minutes.

"_Allow me to re-introduce myself. My name is Thierry Blanc; the right-hand of Azazel and the strongest human in the Grigori." _He announced coolly, earning looks of absolute amazement from the three Fallen in the room. Before any of them could even speak, the young assassin beat them to the punch.

"_Before you say anything else; the ONLY reason I have shown you my identity is because Lord Azazel asked me to. Not because I wanted to. _

_And if one of you spills this secret, I have the Viceroy's permission to erase ALL of you from existence along with whoever you tell." _His voice was like ice as he spoke, causing Reynaray to shiver in fear and Kalawarmer and Dondesheek to back up several steps in fright. Thierry smirked lightly as he sat down on the sofa and grabbed one of the books on the table before opening it and beginning to read.

"_You know you can actually do what you want for now, right? Sit here, watch the TV or go to bed, I don't care. Just be ready to head back to the Grigori for a meeting with Azazel in the evening. Don't panic, it's just for appearances sake." _He added calmly, earning a small nod of the head for Dondesheek as he began to make his way towards the book-case whilst Kalawarmer made a bee-line for the sofa and TV remote. But before either of them could actually settle down and enjoy what remained of their evening, something cropped up in Raynare's mind.

"Wait, where's Mittelt?"

The moment her words left her mouth, Kalawarmer and Dondesheek both turned to the young assassin with hopeful and ashamed faces; Hopeful that their friend was with their saviour, and ashamed because they hadn't noticed the lack of the diminutive blond any sooner.

However, Raynare felt her heart stop cold as the young man paused in his reading, swinging his legs off of the sofa and placing his book back on the table. She felt herself collapse onto the arm of the sofa as she watched the young man stand up and speak only two words that confirmed her worst fears for her annoying friend.

"_I'm sorry." _

The three watched as he got up out of his chair and made his way for the door that would grant him access to the up parts of the house, but before he left, the young man stopped in the doorway and called out to the three Fallen as they moved closer together.

"_I know I may not sound like it. But I know how painful it is to lose a close friend; the pain, the anger and the confusion. You feel like you could have, should have, done something different. All so you don't have to deal with the reality of your situation…..so my advice is deal with it tonight and tomorrow morning…._

_And don't keep running from it like I do."_

* * *

**(Two minutes later)**

Thierry closed the door to his private quarters just as the heart-broken sobs of two Female fallen angles reached his ears.

With a shaky breath, the young man slowly pressed his back against the cool wood of his door before slowly sliding down, his breath coming in slow and ragged breaths as he finally reached the floor. With almost a robotic nature, the young man dragged his knees up and placed his hands on his temples, massaging them gently as a faint pain began to creep its way through from the front of his skull.

'_Another person you've let down Thierry, well fucking done.' _His mind snarked at him as the pain reached around a quarter of the way through his head despite his best efforts to stop the ever-growing pain.

'_I've let nobody down. I got Kalawarmer, Dondesheek and Raynare all out alive; Mittelt's death was unfortunate but there was nothing I could do to stop Akeno and Rias from killing her. And besides, the mission was completed, that's all that matters.' _

'_Oh sure~, just compartmentalise it all away. It doesn't change the fact that someone who __**you **__were given responsibility for has, yet again, been killed thanks to your own incompetence. Or have you forgotten what happened back __**home**__?' _The voice in his head snarked back, earning a pained groan from Thierry as the pain reached well past the half-way point in his head, growing from a dull ache to a far more consistent pain that was beginning to make thinking straight difficult for the young man.

'_Well what the hell else am I supposed to do? Let myself drown in the nightmares and memories? Mope for months and months about the friends and comrades I've failed? Why the hell should I?' _

'_Because you owe it to them you fucking coward. Cowards run from their failing instead of facing them head on.' _The voice snarled as the pain increased from consistent throbbing to agonizing pain that felt as if Thierry's head was stuck between the clamp of a steel vice as someone slowly closed it further and further with every passing second.

With a pain-induced hiss, Thierry managed to force himself to his feet and stumbled towards the European style bed that was situated at the far end of the room. Fumbling with the draw on the heavy oak bedside table, the young French ex-patriot dug around in his draw for several minutes before he finally managed to pull what he was looking for from out of the draw.

The small bottle that he pulled out was a solid white with a black label wrapped around it. With a small flick of the thumb, the young assassin flicked the bottle open and poured out two plain white pills.

'_Oh~ how brave and mature of you Thierry! Drowning me out with happy pills just because you're too weak to deal with the fact that not only are you a murderer of innocents and a betrayer of trust, you still can't face the fact that you're still messed up after…..' _

'_Shut up.' _

'_I mean that's fair 'nough, but still. I'd expect the big bad Jackal to be a lot stronger mentally than this you pathetic wreck of a man."_

'_SHUT UP!' _

With a final mental roar, the young man dry-swallowed the pills in his hands and began rubbing his head in an effort to dispel the voice, Thierry slowly felt the voice recede and the pressure in his skull vanish like a summer's rain. With decidedly shaky movements and steps, the right-hand of the viceroy removed his fire-proof garments and threw them in a corner before he covered the last few steps between him and his bed before clambering onto aforementioned bed and resting his head upon the feathery pillows.

And as his eyelids grew heavy and the world grew dull to his senses, the young assassin couldn't stop the images of countless faces passing through his mind. But of them all, only two stood out; a girl with black hair pulled back into a small braid and a childlike face smeared with soot, dirt and blood that couldn't have been any older than nine or ten years old and a young-ish, good-looking man in his thirties with silver hair and a goatee that were both matted with congealed blood.

'_I'm so sorry…Sheva….Master…..'_

* * *

_(The Following morning)_

Thierry let loose a low groan as the light from his rooms window hit him full force as the sun rose up above Kuoh town for yet another day. Of all times of day, the morning was Thierry's least favourite; mostly given his upbringing. He hadn't had the chance to actually lay in and enjoy the comforts of a decent bed for more than five or six hours at a time, even when he was incredibly young. And unfortunately, with the life he had lived over the past eighteen years, Thierry couldn't actually bring himself to enjoy the comforts of his places of slumber for more than he had been physically conditioned to.

But then, considering his earliest years, five or six hours of sleep wasn't actually that bad a catch if he was being honest with himself.

So it was with a heavy sigh that the young man decided to pull himself from underneath his bedcovers and begin what was set to be a somewhat eventful day, given the meeting at the Grigori he would have to attend later in the day with the three Fallen currently staying in his main house in Kuoh. But as he made to get up, Thierry was suddenly made aware of a weight on his chest that he had not felt before, save for a few times when he had paid a visit to some less than…..polite districts in certain cities. Except for the fairly light weight that was currently spread out across his body, Thierry was also aware of the faint trail of hot air tickling his chiselled chest and something wrapped and tangled with his own legs.

Despite having a good idea as to what it was underneath the covers, Thierry had to check to be one hundred percent certain. So with a certain amount of care and ease, the young assassin of the Grigori gently moved the rich duvet from upon his upper body…..

And was greeted by the sleeping form of the gorgeous Raynare.

'_Well. This was most certainly unexpected.' _

The young man laid there for a while, eyes fixated on the young Fallen's peaceful face as she clung lightly to his sides with her lithe arms. Her face was decidedly calmer than it had been last night, but if the tear traces flowing down her face were anything to go by, she had been crying for a long time and had only recently joined Thierry in his sleep and ceased crying. He sat there for a while, admiring the gorgeous form of the Fallen Angle in-front of him and he couldn't help but reflexively move a strand of her raven locks from her face. As an agent and member of the Grigori, Thierry had slowly grown to find those of Fallen and Youkai blood far more attractive than Devils or Angles, which was unsurprising given how frequently he dealt with them.

'_Such angelic beauty….. it seems like any fast movements could destroy her visage, she looks so fragile but amazing right now. What did I do to deserve such a gorgeous woman spending even ten minutes in the same room as me? I know this is probably too good to be true…..but for once let something like this be real….please…..' _Thierry silently prayed to whatever deity would listen to let this be real. It felt oddly comforting to share a bed with someone who he hadn't paid for once. He knew in all reality that Raynare and her friends would be leaving him today, but for as long as he could possibly enjoy this comfort, he would. He was used to people either staring at him with lust-filled eyes or abject horror and hatred, before leaving the room a few minutes later, leaving him completely alone in the world again. Half the time it was because of said people. The other half the time it was because of his own actions and mannerisms….after all…

If he wasn't close to anybody, he couldn't get hurt again.

But for now he could enjoy the company.

And so he lay there for what seemed like an eternity, eyes fixed to the ceiling and one arm subconsciously wrapped around the Fallen Angle resting on his chest, just above her waist.

Eventually, the young assassin felt the young Fallen stir against his chest, turning his gaze downwards, he watched as the buxom woman let out a soft yawn before detaching both her arms and using her hands to wipe her eyes clear of sleeping-dust. With a small sigh, the young woman moved slightly so that her face was facing Thierry before opening her bleary eyes to reveal her captivating violet eyes to the world once again. Raynare took several seconds to focus her gaze back onto the world of the living, before a confused frown crossed her features as her right hand felt around her head and shoulders for the duvet.

The moment she didn't find it, she froze like a deer caught in the head-lights. With an audible gulp, the buxom Fallen turned her gaze towards Thierry's face, where she was greeted by his cool eyes and a small, amused smirk flickering onto his face for half a second. Reynaray froze again, her captivating violet eyes holding Thierry's own deep-blue oceans for what felt like hours but was in reality a few seconds. The young assassin cocked an eyebrow and went to speak, but unfortunately for him (and his ear-drums), Raynare beat him to the punch.

Literally leaping from her position on his body and further down the bed, whilst using the duvet to (barely) cover her considerable cleavage and the rest of her modesty before screaming at the top of her lungs.

"KYAAAAAH~ ! I'M SO SORRY JACKAL-S –MPH!"

However, before the buxom young woman's screams could completely destroy his ear-drums, Thierry managed to cover her mouth with his hand.

"_There's no need to shout, Miss Raynare," _he began in a surprisingly calm tone of voice (if the way Raynare's eyes widened was anything to go off of), "_My eardrums can only take so much this early in the morning. So, I'm going to remove my hand, and you can say what you were going to say, but at a normal level, okay?" _Finishing in exactly the same tone, he watched as Reynaray nodded dumbly as the final words left his mouth. The moment he saw the nod, he moved his hand away….but kept it free so that he could stop her shouting again.

Cruel as it sounded, Thierry had found out pretty early on that when in such situations, it never hurts to be prepared to protect your eardrums.

Luckily, it seemed like Raynare had gotten the message, because instead of having another screaming fit, she simply bowed her head in shame and began again.

"I'm sorry Jackal-san….."

"_Call me Thierry, Raynare, I'm not at work."_ Thierry interjected softly, drawing a shocked look from the young woman opposite him. Raynare went to protest but one look from the most dangerous human in the Grigori and Azazel's right hand stopped her, so she opted to continue with her apology, as instructed.

"T….Thierry-san, I wish to apologize for violating the privacy of your bedroom and your bed. I will accept any form of punishment you deem fitting for my transgression." She spoke in a near monotone, earning a confused look from Thierry. Her apology sounded genuine, as did her decision to accept any punishment he decided upon; which meant that something was bugging her. After all, her dossier spoke of how proud, independent and outspoken she was. This was most definitely NOT normal behaviour for the young woman in-front of him; ergo someone or something must have upset her. Thierry already had a pretty good idea as to what was bugging his temporary bed-mate, but he decided it was better to get his suspicions confirmed by the girl in question.

"_So why did you join me in my bed? Don't bother trying to lie to me, I'll know if you are." _

He tried to convey the words he spoke in as non-threatening a manner as possible, but Raynare still seemed to flinch slightly at his words, causing an unfamiliar pang to run through Thierry's body as he watched the girl drop her head in shame and pull the duvet around her form a little tighter.

'_What was that feeling…why do I feel so …so…sad looking at her?' _Thierry thought to himself, but before he could continue his mental deduction of the odd feeling that crept through his body, the crestfallen young Fallen spoke up again in a voice that was barely above a whisper.

"I…..I couldn't sleep. I kept seeing that Gremory bitch and Mittelt…..and I always sleep better when I have something to hug. So I thought I could sleep in here for a while and then leave before you noticed."

The moment he heard those words, Thierry reached out gently and placed a hand on her shoulder, and again felt the weird sensation course through his body as she flinched slightly at his touch. However, he couldn't dwell on that for now, as he had to deal with Raynare; and despite certain, ingrained and self-built parts of his mind screaming at him to keep his distance, to keep _her _safe from the trouble that followed him, the majority of his mind was yelling for him to do what he was about to do.

'_Don't do it! Don't hurt someone else because of your own selfish wants and needs, you heartless bastard. If you truly care for her well-being you'll stay the fuck away from her and let her live.'_

'_You don't have to close yourself off to the world! The pair of you have been through trauma, and you know how to deal with it, at least in theory; she doesn't. Help her, guide her and heal her.' _

'_Yeah, look how well that fucking turned out the last time you did that! If you want to help you'll just forget this ever happened and let her move on, and you'll stay out of her life.' _

'_You've been alone so long that the only __**you **__that interacts with people is the whatever persona you've set up for that particular mission. This is a chance to free ourselves again, to become a real fucking person. Just because you're doing this doesn't mean you love her or even __**care**__ for her. It just means that you want to be a normal person again…..' _

'_Yeah, because we know __**all~ **__about being normal and dealing with this, don't we?' _

With a shake of the head, Thierry re-focused his unflinching gaze onto Raynare's gorgeous violet depths and let out a deep sigh before he spoke.

"_Listen Raynare. I know how it feels to lose someone and feel scared, alone and angry,' _He began softly, causing Raynare's breath to hitch and her eyes to begin watering, but Thierry pressed on regardless.

"_So I'm not going to let you feel like that, for as long as I live and breathe. I know how bad it can get, and Lord knows I wouldn't wish it upon anyone but my enemies. So if you need someone to talk to so you stop feeling alone, I'll listen for as long as you want. _

_If you need someone to spar against and let out all the anger; I'll fight you for as long as you need. _

_And if you need a shoulder to cry upon or a body to hold at night to let the fear and angst go, you can come to me at the Grigori and I'll hold you until your tears run dry and you sleep soundly again." _

Thierry took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he finished his impromptu speech. He didn't know if it was his medication doing all his thinking and talking, but even if it was, he hadn't meant to offer the girl so much, but something at the back of his mind told him to keep on going. He knew it was wrong to offer such companionship to alleviate his own isolation and remove his mind from his own grief and guilt…..but something in the back of his mind was telling him that those were not the only reasons he had given the girl such an offer. He didn't know what that feeling was trying to push him towards in terms of an end goal, but for now he would settle for companionship and the potential for said companionship to alleviate his own demons.

But all of this hinged on the girls response.

So, it was with baited breath that Thierry opened his eyes, judging by the silence that the girl was outraged or offended by his offer in some way….but he wasn't expecting a crying Raynare to launch herself at the young assassin and wrap her arms around his bare torso before burying her face in the crook of his neck and knocking him onto his back.

Thierry lay there awkwardly for several moments, slightly shocked and unsure as to what he should do; but after several seconds, the young assassin gently wrapped the grieving Fallen Angle in his arms and just laid there.

And forgot about the world for a little while.

* * *

_(Roughly a week later, with Thierry on his walk to school.) _

It had been a week since Thierry had taken Raynare and her fellow Fallen back to Azazel at the Grigori. The three of them had explained their actions to Azazel, who pardoned them before lying and saying that Kokabiel was merely acting rashly and that he would deal with his 'incompetence' later (an act that Thierry dearly hoped he would be involved in).

Following the meeting, Thierry could quite honestly say that it was the weirdest week he had ever had. Starting with the fact that the young assassin was no-longer operating alone in Kuoh town for the foreseeable future, unless he decided to finally snap and kill Azazel for his constant, incessant and annoying meddling.

The reason?

Raynare was now living with him and working with him on this operation.

The main reasoning was due to the fact that despite her usage of only one set of wings, Raynare actually had two sets of wings in terms of power. The reason she hadn't used them (and thus the extra power) during her fight with the Occult Research club was out of both arrogance and necessity. Arrogance as she didn't believe that they would pose a threat to her, and necessity as she didn't want to trigger any potential alert wards within the city that could have brought a small army to her front door. Any ways, Azazel had told Thierry that the young Fallen truly had the potential to be something special if she was trained correctly, and thus he turned said training over to Thierry. At first Thierry had rejected the idea outright, claiming that he had neither the time nor the experience to handle the buxom Fallen's training, and thus it wouldn't be fair to her. But when Azazel informed him of his intention to train both Kalawarmer and Dondesheek personally (due to their high potential), and the crestfallen look on Raynare's face, he eventually relented and agreed to train the beautiful Fallen Angle at the weekends and establish a training regime for her to follow during the day so that she could continue to grow stronger even when he wasn't there.

Initially, the real reasoning that Thierry had for wanting to keep Raynare away was worry. He was worried for her safety in such a hostile environment, which was a given considering the places he was sent to. But it wasn't just that; he was also worried that she'd figure out his reasoning for helping her and hate him for it. She'd hate him for using her as a means of absolving himself of his guilt regarding the death of Mittelt, not because he actually gave a dam as to whether or not she recovered from her grief.

However, as he offered her a shoulder to cry on and an ear to listen….Thierry found his standpoint changing. At first he merely saw Raynare as a means to deal with his own demons…but as he continued to talk with her and help her through the grief, he honestly could say that he was actually beginning to care for the lost and confused Fallen Angle. Naturally the iron-hard and ice-cold logic he used on a day-to-day basis had argued that he was merely treating her like a mission asset; nothing more and nothing less. But another part of his mind had argued that the reason he had even offered to help Raynare in the first place was because, whether he chose to admit it or not; he felt responsible for her grief and actually cared enough to want to deal with it and help her move past all of this. The argument had raged on in his head for several days, but between his initial decision to help the young Fallen and his tendency to acquis to her needs or wants, even if it meant dropping whatever he was doing, he eventually realised something that was both worrying and warming.

He had actually began to care for Raynare.

He wouldn't sacrifice himself for her or go out of his way to make sure she was happy all of the time, but he would most certainly help her if he could, and he wouldn't let her die if he could help it. Not exactly the greatest progress in the world, but for someone as alienated and broken as Thierry, that was some _serious _ground.

'_Ack, god dam it Thierry. Stop letting your mind wander and get it back in the game!' _Thierry all but growled to himself mentally as he made his way towards the front gates of Kuoh academy, giving his head a small shake to clear away any potentially distracting thoughts as he made his way over to the gates. He didn't know why, but he had a horrible feeling about the upcoming day, and he suspected that if anything was going to go wrong or crop up, it was likely to occur first thing today.

And unfortunately for Thierry, it cropped up in the form of the flaring of two rather distinctive aura's.

The first one felt like a raw destructive wave; there was no malice or hatred to it, but rather it felt like a force of nature. It was like a tidal wave or thunderstorm ; untameable and unending. But in all reality, despite how impressive it was, the second aura was by far and away the more impressive one.

It felt like heat. Raw, unparalled heat and fire. The aura felt as hot as the sun itself, and like sunlight with shadows, it was completely drowning out the destructive aura of one Rias Gremory with ease. And as far as Thierry and his employer were aware, the sheer aura that was currently trying to engulf his senses could only belong to one young Devil.

'_Riser Phenex; youngest son of the ancient and noble House of Phenex, one of the remaining 72 pillars. Said to be an absolute genius on the level of the Sitri and Gremory heiresses, he combines his natural brilliance with his amazing power, natural fighting talent and incredible regeneration powers to make himself one hell of a potential threat to any Fallen or normal Angle with two to three sets of wings. He's currently tied for 'strongest youth' alongside Sairaorg Bael…. And currently betrothed to one Rias Gre…'_ However, before Thierry could finish his mental evaluation and recall of the young mans' aura, a third one burst into life.

Cold.

Scratch that, absolutely freezing cold. That was the only way Thierry could truly explain the aura he was now feeling to someone else.

It was as if the arctic itself had been brought to Kuoh and given a physical manifestation in terms of magical/demonic aura. It was all-consuming, and as much as Thierry didn't want to admit to it, the aura currently enveloping the grounds of Kuoh academy dwarfed his own natural reserves by a fair amount. Not to the point where he wouldn't fight said aura's owner, but enough that he wouldn't actually look to win the fight; rather fight until he had the chance to get the hell away from them.

He would never admit it out loud, but even Thierry knew when he was outclassed in terms of raw power and experience, and given who was flaring their aura before, and the level of raw power currently on display; there could only be one person that the aura could belong to, given that the second person couldn't even enter the human world without authorisation from the Devil government.

'_Grayfia Lucifuge. Wife of the current Lucifer and known as the 'Ultimate Queen'. Formerly a member of the Lucifuge Extra-Demon clan, Grayfia is an absolute monster in terms of raw-power and battlefield nous. Favours ice-magic and has enough raw power to annihilate Japan several times over, yet enough control to strike a nail at five hundred yards with a shard of ice. She has one son and is an incredibly serious person, and regarded as a class-1 threat.' _Thierry mentally recited to himself, but before he could take another step, the power dropped back of, along with the power of the Phenex and Greymory clan.

Unsurprising given the power they had been subjected to.

He lent casually against a nearby wall, eager to figure out what he could, but before he could extend his senses even further and try to use the fluctuation of his targets aura's to discern their emotional state, the Phenex's aura faded away and the Gremory's seemed to relax back to normal.

The aura of the Ultimate queen though?

That most certainly did not relax.

Just as he was about to make his way to home-room (and a light debate with Sona), Thierry was forced to freeze as the ice-cold aura returned, and was this time directed _solely _towards the young French assassin. It was less powerful, but more ferocious than the first time he had sensed it; indicating that the owner wished to see if Thierry had the magical muscle to free himself from this frosty embrace.

'_What the hell are you playing at you filthy little devil?' _He spat to himself mentally, and felt the aura slowly increase in its power and its intensity as it continued to try and goad him for a response.

So, it was with great reluctance that Thierry quickly checked the surrounding area for nosy students or surveillance cameras; happily noting the distinct lack of either of the aforementioned annoyances.

As such, he quickly delved into his allowed magical reserves, building it up to the point he would be able to push the she-devils aura away and then some. He held back the power for as long as he could physically manage, like a dam filled to the bursting point. A bead of sweat rolled down his face as he continued to force his power to obey his commands, and eventually, after what seemed like an age, but had in reality been but a few scant moments…

The dam burst.

The power poured forth from Thierry like a fiery tidal wave of death and an oncoming thunderstorm. It was truly a ferocious display of power, and like a force of nature, it completely annihilated the slightly flimsy aura surrounding the young man, obliterating the feeling of cold and bitterness that had been surrounding him, before surging back towards the source.

Thierry smirked with satisfaction as he felt Grayfia's power flare in surprise, but before she could unleash another, more powerful fluctuation of energy, Thierry reigned in the burst. Like a master horse-tamer bringing a stallion to heel, the young master-assassin of the Grigori reigned in his burst of power, before forcing it to dissipate into the thin air.

Taking a deep breath, the young man quickly set-about moving swiftly away from the now-scorched earth where he had stood.

After that whole situation, school was looking a whole lot more appealing than it did when he first signed up for this job…..but even with his desire to get to classes, one single thought would simply not stop bugging Thierry Blanc as he slipped into the person of 'Pierr Dusitoir'.

'_What the hell was that all about?' _

* * *

(_Later that same day.) _

'_Well, Sona and Rias had no idea as to what the hell Grayfia was attempting to do earlier, so I'm still mostly in the dark as to why she would specifically target me with her aura. And that is not something I am AT ALL comfortable with in any shape or form.' _Thierry mused to himself as he passed through the gates of Kuoh academy, offering a small nod of acknowledgement to those who wished him a good-evening as he made his way out of the school.

'_I should probably contact Azazel later and ask him what he makes of all of this.' _

Plan of action decided upon, the right-hand of the Viceroy turned right before taking off down the pathway that would lead him to his home.

The evening was quiet and peaceful as Thierry walked; the sun was slowly setting in the West, casting a captivating orange/red light over the slowly quietening town of Kuoh whilst painting the sky a plethora of colours that seamlessly and almost artistically flowed across the evening sky. The streets were mostly quiet and the world slowly falling towards slumber.

It truly was a beautiful sight to behold; one that Thierry wished he could have enjoyed more as he grew up.

However, before the young assassin could fall into painful memories, he caught a figure out of the corner of his eye that he most certainly did _not _expect to see.

The figure was most certainly that of a women, if the generous bust, well-flared hips and mile-long legs were anything to go by. The young woman (who looked no-older than twenty five or twenty six) was wearing a pain of silver high-heeled shoes and jeans that hugged her legs and perfectly shaped rear-end magnificently. She wore a plain black shirt and blazer, whilst a silver scarf was pulled around her neck and her silver hair was pulled up into a pony-tail. And all the while, her gorgeous face was tilted slightly towards Thierry, and her eyes fixed firmly on him as he walked past her.

Despite the lack of her traditional maid's uniform or braided/free-flowing hair, Thierry knew _exactly _who was following him.

'_What the hell is she doing here?' _He thought to himself with a tiny amount of worry as he subtly increased his pace as the 'Ultimate Queen' began to tail the prolific assassin.

'_I can't detect any killer intent or any power build-up…..so she must be following me for another reason…..and there's only one way I can find out what the hell it is she wants.' _

Plan of action decided upon, the young man quickly made his way towards the local park, deliberately slowing his pace and taking the time to observe the Sakura trees and Cherry blossoms as he casually strolled through the park, taking note of how Grayfia expertly managed to look like she was _not _following him.

Well, at least to the untrained or undertrained eye.

Eventually, after meandering his way through the park, Thierry brought himself to a halt on a small bridge in an isolated section of the park. He subtly cast several aversion spells so that no humans or weaker Supernaturals would stumble through this section of the park; naturally this didn't stop the wife of Lucifer, seeing as it wasn't meant to anyways.

Letting out a small sigh, Thierry slowly leaned onto the edge of the bridge and cast his gaze out across the small river; taking delight in how the water reflected the sun's rays, causing it to take on a gorgeous but unthreatening red hue as he merely enjoyed the view as he waited for his 'guest' to arrive. About a minute later, the sound of high-heels striking wood met his ears as the silver foot-ware thudded against the heavy wood. Moments later, a second person leaned against the railing…..

And stood there.

With a very subtle glance, Thierry noted that Grayfia had her eyes cast out over the same area as he did, though with a face as cold as ice, he found it hard to discern whether or not she was enjoying the view as much as he was. It soon became slightly awkward as the tension continued to grow and permeate the surrounding air until Thierry finally decided to break it with his first language.

"_Beautiful, isn't it, Lady Lucifuge?" _

"Indeed it is, Dusitoir-san." Her voice was like silk and ice; it was soft and gently caressed the ears-drums, but it also held a certain detachment and level of emotionlessness. An odd combination, but oddly fitting for the stony-visage-d woman stood next to Thierry.

"_Care to explain why the wife of the current Lucifer is stood next to me?" _

"Would you care to explain as to why an S-class magician is currently at school with my Sister-in-law?"

"_Like I told Gremory, unlike you Devils, I can't just disappear back to the underworld. I need a full education to keep the 'normal' government off of my back." _He replied coolly before turning his head slightly to meet the piercing gaze of the wife of Lucifer. She stood there for a while, her silvery eyes boring into his own grey ones, as if searching for any signs of deception or misdirection. However, Thierry's front held fast and he managed to earn a small nod of acceptance from the young woman.

"Rias said as much, Dusitoir-san."

"_I doubt this is just a check-up to make sure I'm not a threat to your sister-in-law, now is it? After all, your husband would have just sent a pawn or something if he was truly worried." _He stated after his question, earning a small nod from Grayfia. Feeling comfortable enough to continue the conversation with the powerful she-devil, 'Pierr' pushed the conversation towards its main issue.

"_So what was with the power contest earlier?" _

"It was a test."

"_For what?" _

"To see if your what I am looking for."

That caught Thierry's attention and caused him to tense slightly. He was well aware of the fact that Grayfia had an Evil-Piece set that she had yet to use, and as such, her words could hold some extremely bad connotations as far as Thierry was concerned. However, before the young assassin of the Grigori could jump to any conclusion, Grayfia spoke up again.

And her words where something of a shock to the young assassin.

"I need someone to train my sister-in-laws peerage, and I have decided that you are the best candidate for the job."

That frozen Thierry's thoughts for several seconds. In fact, his thoughts were so shocked by Grayfia's words, it was all he could do to merely title his head slightly in the universal gesture for 'Eh?'. Unperturbed by his lack of a verbal response, Grayfia continued.

"Dusitoir-san, as I am sure you are aware, there is an arranged marriage between Rias and Riser-san," here Grayfia's lips quirked downwards and her eyebrows creased for a moment as she frowned, "And my sister-in-law has made it quite clear that she has no intention of marrying him. As such, it was decided by both Lord Gremory and Phenex to hold an unofficial rating game to decide the matter."

Taking a deep breath, the 'Silver-haired Queen of Annihilation' continued on her mini-speech.

"Despite my reputation, I care deeply for my family; Rias and my son Millicas more so due to their age. And I cannot stand the thought of my sister-in-law marrying someone she will be unhappy with. But the issue is that Rias is not powerful enough to break-off the engagement, despite what she believes. Riser is a powerful young devil and easily one of the strongest to have been born in quite some time. That is not to say Rias is weak; it is merely the case that Riser is incredibly strong for someone so young and so lazy.

And given that Rias will be going up against a full peerage without one of her own, lacking experience…..well let's just say that their chances of winning this match currently stands at nil. My husband has a hair-brained scheme already in the works, should my plan fail, but I would rather put my faith in them winning the match as opposed to what will essentially be a game of chance."

Grayfia's reasoning made perfect sense to Thierry; Riser was incredibly powerful and gifted, more so than Rias. But that still didn't change the one question that was now nagging the young assassin.

"_Why me?" _

"Whether you fully know it or not, Dusitoir-san, but you are unnaturally powerful for a human your age. You could probably beat Riser and Rias combined if push came to shove, and your ability to use more than one element at such a young age merely adds to my point. Rias would not accept anyone from our family aiding her during the ten day training period she was granted by Riser directly, as she feels they are the ones who put her in this mess in the first place. But what she fails to recognise is that she needs guidance, and I feel that you would be the best choice for Rias and her peerage to learn from."

Thierry stood there silently as he processed the woman's words. Again, her reasoning was sound and her motives fair, and this made Thierry pause and actually think about the offer on the table.

'_I should just say no. After all, why the hell would I want to make my enemies stronger, and thus potentially create problems for myself and the Grigori later down the line? It technically makes no sense at face value. That and they're devils! Any skills they pick up from me could be used to further their kind's poison throughout the planet. However, as much as I loathe to admit it, the potential to understand the Gremory heiress and identify her strengths and weakness, find potential blackmail material, as well as the chance to examine the power of destruction is just too good to pass up….' _

After several moments of silence, Thierry spoke.

"_I cannot give you an answer right now, as I need to check my own schedule. However, if I am able to, I will aid your sister-in-law in her training…..for a fee of course." _He added those last words with a large amount of satisfaction.

Hey, he was going to be potentially spending ten days with the race he hated most, so why the hell shouldn't he be compensated?

Grayfia again held her visage as she produced a small card with a number written on it.

"Call this number when you have an answer. Money will not be an issue, I can assure you."

And with that the strongest Queen turned around and headed back to the surrounding world. Thierry stood there, waiting until he was absolutely certain she was gone before quickly running a scan to make sure no surveillance runes had been left in the local area.

Fishing out his phone, the young man quickly dialled a number and placed the phone to his ear.

"_Azazel, I've got something I need to talk to you about." _

* * *

_(Later that same evening, Gremory Territory, Underworld)_

Grayfia sat in-front of an ornate wooden chest of draws in her and her husband's private quarters in the Gremory Manor. She was currently brushing her hair with an ivory-handled and backed comb, working out the knots in her hair. Her husband was currently in the shower, thus giving her some peaceful time to herself before her husband inevitably began bouncing around the room like a hyperactive child on the biggest sugar-rush of the decade.

Setting down her comb, the buxom queen was just about ready to make her way to bed when her mobile phone on the dresser went off, altering her to a text.

Picking up the device, the 'Ultimate Queen' unlocked her phone before reading the text message she had just received from one Pierr Dusitoir. At first her heart soared with joy as she read the first few lines of the message, but that all quickly changed when she read the next part of the message.

Payment.

As she finished reading through the instructions as to where to pay the fee for her services, the devil couldn't help but let her jaw drop slightly at the figure at the bottom of the message. And it was all she could do to smirk ever so slightly before shaking her head at the boys' boldness when dealing with her.

"Cheeky little bastard."

* * *

**A/N: **

**Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd done. **

**Okay, so here's the re-post of chapter three. Like I said very little has actually changed, just a few miniscule dialogue changes and the occasional SPaG pieces. I wanted to keep this chapter as it was, because I feel this is actually one of the best I have ever written; the interactions between characters especially. **

**But any-ways, enough self-praise, let's move on. **

**Now, I know some of you are probably confused as to why Thierry was so 'nice' to Raynare. My answer to that? **

**He's not… well not yet anyways. **

**As you've probably noticed in this chapter, Thierry has a lot of issues and personal demons that he is running from and refuses to face. However, Mittelt's death is fresh in his mind, and he has actually seen the damage that it caused to others; which has in-turn damaged Thierry even more. As such, he is looking for some sort of absolution or at least closure by helping Raynare move on and grow stronger. And whilst he may 'care' for her; he doesn't yet see her as a friend or as anything more than that. She is merely the beautiful young woman who he believes holds the key to escaping his latest demon….and as such he 'cares' for her. So don't worry, he hasn't gone mushy on you just yet ! **

**And as a lot of you have probably noticed, we are now onto the Phenex vs Gremory arc. **

**Initially I didn't want Thierry involved all that much with this arc, but when I realised the opportunities for character development etc. that it possess, I couldn't help but jump at the chance. **

**Don't worry, the arc is probably only going to be about three chapters long tops if I have anything to say about it, which will allow me to hit the far more interesting Excalibur arc a lot quicker than most authors, and thus allow me to move onto some far more epic battle-scenes and what not, whilst brining in a rather large plot-changes that follow on from earlier events …as well as unveiling one of my big surprises for throughout the story. **

**It's not the biggest…..but it's cool and important, so I'm not going to talk about that any more. **

**And just to clear up any confusion; neither Thierry or Grayfia were using their full power. Thierry used enough to throw off a weak aura from Grayfia. As it stands, Thierry is strong, but like it says in the text, he's not stupid enough to think he can take on the 'Ultimate Queen.' **

**Ah, information dump complete. **

**So now all I have left to do is ask that you leave a review telling me what I have done well and not so well in this chapter, and as such what needs fixing and what can stay the same. And all I ask is that if you find yourself liking this story, is that you perhaps drop a fave or a follow (maybe even both) so that you are always up-to-date with the story. **

**Oh, and of course, **

**Keep it real like a Ninja folks!**

**Peace, **

**MetalGearMantis**


	4. Chapter 4

**Authors Notes = A/N**

"Normal Speech."

'_Thoughts." _

"_Foreign Language." _

"_**Sacred Gears/Weapon spirits speech." **_

'_**Sacred Gear/ Weapon spirits thoughts." **_

* * *

**A/N: And here's chapter 4, yaaaay!**

**Again not too much changed really here and not a lot for me to say about it apart from….. **

**LET'S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD!**

* * *

_Disclaimer: I would like to clearly state that I do not own (and more than likely never will) Highschool DxD or any other series mentioned in this story. The rights to said series belongs to their rightful owners. I merely own the intellectual property rights of my OC, Thierry Blanc. I do not, nor ever intend to, profit from the writing of this Fanfiction, and I am merely writing it for non-profit entertainment purposes only. _

* * *

_(Last time in: The Jackal of the Grigori) _

_Grayfia sat in-front of an ornate wooden chest of draws in her and her husband's private quarters in the Gremory Manor. She was currently brushing her hair with an ivory-handled and backed comb, working out the knots in her hair. Her husband was currently in the shower, thus giving her some peaceful time to herself before her husband inevitably began bouncing around the room like a hyperactive child on the biggest sugar-rush of the decade. _

_Setting down her comb, the buxom queen was just about ready to make her way to bed when her mobile phone on the dresser went off, altering her to a text. _

_Picking up the device, the 'Ultimate Queen' unlocked her phone before reading the text message she had just received from one Pierr Dusitoir. At first her heart soared with joy as she read the first few lines of the message, but that all quickly changed when she read the next part of the message. _

_Payment. _

_As she finished reading through the instructions as to where to pay the fee for her services, the devil couldn't help but let her jaw drop slightly at the figure at the bottom of the message. And it was all she could do to smirk ever so slightly before shaking her head at the boys' boldness when dealing with her. _

"_Cheeky little bastard." _

* * *

_**(Chapter Three: Tortu… I mean Training-Days) **_

* * *

Thierry stretched his arms above his head as finished the final details for the Gremory training trip he was to be overseeing for the next ten days. He had taken the day off of school to meticulously pour over every last shred of information that Grayfia and Azazel had supplied him with to ensure maximum efficiency and productivity over the next ten days. Any new information that he had gathered from Grayfia's dossiers was forwarded to Azazel and the Grigori, so that they maintained their information superiority over the Angels and Devils.

Following that, he had then spent the past several hours going over every single last detail _again _before formulating a training plan for each and every member of the peerage.

For Rias herself, Thierry had devised a series of control exercises and hand-to-hand routines for her to adhere to for the ten-day period. The heiress of the Gremory family had absolutely woeful levels of control when it came to her demonic powers, as emphasised by her use of just large, uncoordinated waves of the 'Power of Destruction'. He didn't know whether this was due to laziness or a certain arrogance surrounding the Bael's greatest gift, but what Thierry _did _know was that the girl was going to learn the importance of control; and she was going to learn it _very _quickly. So far, the only saving grace the girl had was that she was less powerful than Riser, who similarly suffered from the same issue as his betrothed in terms of control.

However, due to her lower power-levels, Gremory would be able to understand and put into practice the concepts of control with greater ease than her flame-brained rival. Well, in theory anyways.

'_After all, she is a devil. So I shouldn't hold her by normal standards.' _

Next on the list was her queen, Akeno. Now, unlike her King, Akeno actually had good control over her demonic/magical powers, as shown by her ability to regulate and manipulate the sizes of her attacks with relative ease. This, combined with her naturally high demonic energy (thanks to her heritage) made her quite the force to be reckoned with for most high-class devils and their equivalents in the other factions. However, her refusal to use the gift that her father's blood-line gave her was a rather big problem.

She had the potential to (theoretically) become as strong as her King if she used her full potential, but her rather petty rage was clouding her reasoning, and Thierry knew he couldn't afford to waste time on making her see the error of her ways, least of all because he had no way of bringing the issue up without raising some serious red-flags.

As such, he had put the buxom woman on training regime focused on hand-to-hand combat (her greatest weakness) and tactical analysis during a one on one fight (her second greatest weakness), thus making her far more versatile than she currently was.

Next was Rias' rook, Koneko.

She was, again, another misguided fool who refused to unlock her full potential due to her hate towards her sister, the Khaos brigade member and 'The Black-cat of the Underworld': Kuroka. She refused to use any of her natural abilities, gifted to her via her Nekomata heritage, save for her natural agility and speed. It was kind of pathetic really, but once again, Thierry didn't really care for her personal issues, and he didn't have the time to deal with it. So, seeing as the girl was already a master martial artist, he based her training on simply making her even faster, stronger and more tactically aware.

Fortunately, the next person on Thierry's list was a lot easier to deal with; the princess of Kuoh academy, Yumi Kiba.

The young knight was already a master swordswoman; almost good enough to keep pace with Thierry for a little while, actually. However, as a Knight, she had two major flaws that she needed to overcome if she wanted to be a useful weapon in the upcoming rating game.

The first issue?

Defence.

As a Knight, Kiba was incredibly fast. Hell, she was quick even for her specific piece, given her natural talents as a human. But this meant that she had grown weak of body and slightly sloppy in her defensive skills, and as such she needed a bit of a wake-up call. There wasn't much he could do about Kiba's physical weakness, apart from a temporary fix. Fortunately the buxom blond was talented enough as a swordswoman to deal with her technical flaws easily within the time-frame.

However, her second major 'issue' was one that needed serious work.

Her attitude.

Unfortunately, the young sword prodigy had her potential curbed by the Devil's insistence on 'honour' and 'etiquette'. It meant she wouldn't press an 'unfair' advantage or do anything she considered 'unsporting'. It was absolutely ludicrous to Thierry; on a battlefield there was only one rule.

Kill or be killed.

It didn't matter how you went about it and what you had to do, all that mattered was winning. Luckily it was something that he could fix. However, it was most going to take a _lot _of time to kill off those bad habits, which meant that Kiba was going to require the most hands-on approach of the Gremory group.

Following Kiba, came arguably the easiest target for Thierry in terms of training.

Issei Hyodo.

The boy was weak, of that Thierry had absolutely no doubt what-so-ever, and was going to take a lot of work to make into a passable fighter for the Gremory heiress. However, he actually had some serious drive, commitment and a need to get better that was so god damned infectious that it made even Thierry feel slightly lazy in comparison (even though he knew nobody had the same drive as him…..it was just…inexplicable.). And as such, Thierry felt comfortable with the exercise intensive and sparring programme he had established for the young Red-Dragon Emperor.

'_Huh….then we come to the Holy Maiden.'_

When he had first discovered that the 'Holy Maiden' had been turned into a Devil following the battle at the church, Thierry had almost annihilated the entire town with the use of his greatest weapon in his rage before marching into the school with the rage of a god. He'd assumed that the whore the Gremory family called 'heiress' had forcibly reincarnated the girl and turned her to the side she would've hated more than anything in the entire world. And given his personal hatred of the system….

Well, let's just say that the discussion he had with Rias and Sona had been a little bit more than heated.

It had taken them more than an hour, but Thierry had ultimately managed to calm himself down, mostly thanks to the words of the holy maiden herself.

* * *

_(Flashback)_

_Thierry's entire form was coated in white-hot flames and heavy lightning storms dancing across his legs and arms, whilst his body shook with rage. The two young devils in-front of him were in a similar state; Rias almost invisible due to the aura of destruction coating her form whilst Sona was literally standing in front of a mini-tsunami. _

_The two peerages in the room had backed up completely from the three of them in abject terror of the raw power permeating the room, save for Akeno, Yumi, Tsubaki and the girl that all of this was about; Asia Argento. _

"_And to think I thought you two were actually good people." He growled out, earning narrowed eyes from Rias and an exasperated sigh from Sona. _

"_For the last time, we CAN'T reincarnate someone…"_

"_Without them WANTING YOU TO, I KNOW!" Thierry screamed as his power grew even greater, causing many in the room to start falling to their knees as the magical pressure in the room grew greater and greater. _

"_But the simple fact of the matter is that there are __**ways **__of breaking peoples wills, of making them think that what __**you **__want is what __**they**__ want." He whispered, earning horrified looks from Sona and Rias as they quickly realised what he was alluding to. However, before either of them could voice their outrage at his words, the last person he would have ever expected to spoke up. _

"_Ano, Dusitoir-senpai, Buccho would never do anything like this to me. It was all my choice." A soft, thick Italian voice broke through the tense silence, causing Thierry to whip around so fast he almost gave himself whip-lash to face one Asia Argento. The girl was a short blond who was currently clad in the Kuoh Academy girls uniform, her face was 'cute', with a small nose and big green eyes that almost caused Thierry to drop his flames and lightning right there and then. However, he didn't, so the girl shyly pressed her two index fingers together and turned her gaze downwards in embarrassment as she spoke. _

"_I….Issei-san saved me from the Fallen Angels and their exorcists. And before that he was my first ever friend, even though he was a devil. And although the lord may have wanted me to pass on….I was selfish. I…I didn't want to leave my first ever friend so soon, so I asked for Buccho to reincarnate me." She finished softly, earning thankful gazes from Rias, her peerage and Sona's, whilst said school-council president watched on with a detached mask. Thierry's face slowly waxed from righteous fury to a cold mask of detachment as his powers slowly dissipated, causing the temperature to slowly drop back to normal and Thierry's hair to drop as the static slowly faded away. His eyes took on a cold detachment and his figure stiffened as he straightened out his uniform before slowly making his way away from the group and towards the door to the main school. _

_As he reached the door he paused and turned his head to face them._

"_Know this Gremory, it's only because of that girls good heart that __**any **__of you get to live through today. But know this, if I find out that she's lying or that you forcibly have reincarnated anyone or you plan on doing so…." _

_He paused and opened the door as he turned and slowly made his way out of the door. _

"_Not even the four Mao's will be able to protect you from my wrath." _

* * *

_**(Back to the present) **_

In many ways Thierry was glad that the young girl had been given a second chance. After all, the story of her young and innocent life was one of unnecessary pain and suffering, so Thierry wouldn't begrudge her happiness, even if it was with _devils. _

'Kindda glad I slipped Twilight healing from Raynare's grasps and left it with Asia's corpse I suppose.'

**Knock, Knock, Knock. **

Thierry shook his head lightly as the door at the far end of the room reverberated slightly as someone knocked on the heavy oak door. With a small quirk of the lips he realised the only person it could be knocking on his door.

"Come in."

With a faint click, the door's latch opened and the door swung open on its well-oiled hinges. Turning his gaze from the table, the young assassin watched as his housemate as she made her way across to him. Currently, Raynare was wearing a blue French rugby jersey that hugged her voluptuous chest whilst her hot-pants managed to hug her perfectly crafted backside in all the right places, whilst a pair of slippers covered her feet. Neither of them said a word as she walked all the way across the fairly large room, eventually coming to a stop besides Thierry.

"You look stressed." She said softly as she slowly sat down on the edge of his desk, placing her arms behind her, further on the desk, thus causing her bust to push unintentionally push forward slightly (well, if Thierry's thoughts were to be believed).

"What gave it away?"

"The fact you look like you're ready to explode? The fact you haven't come out all day and spent most of last night raging and kicking my ass in training? Huh, I wonder what could have _possibly _given it away?" She replied in her trademark sarcastic drawl , earning a small, dry chuckle from Thierry.

"That bad, huh?"

"Yeah, that freaking bad."

The two of them sat there in silence for several moments before Raynare let out a small sigh and cast her eyes to the floor ever so slightly before she spoke up again, whilst Thierry turned his gaze back to his work.

"It's past midnight."

"I know."

"I tried to sleep."

That caused him to pause ever so slightly and turn his gaze towards the young Fallen Angel and felt the odd feeling pass through him again as he saw her with her head hanging and her bangs hiding her gorgeous face from view, whilst her shoulders gently shook. So it was with a gentle touch that Thierry took her by the hand and pulled her onto his lap, legs across him and arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him flush to her body.

The young Fallen sat there for a while, her body shaking with silent tears as she buried her face into Thierry's chest. Said young assassin merely sat there, gently rubbing circles on her back and holding her close as he silently comforted the young Fallen Angel as best as he could. After a while, she stopped shaking enough that Thierry felt that she might be ready to talk a little bit.

"_Want to talk about it?" _He asked gently, earning a small nod from her.

"I….I just kept seeing Gremory every time I tried to close my eyes."

"And her face scares you?"

"No, it's just that," she paused briefly as she wiped her eyes and thought about her words before continuing, "It's just that every time I lie down and try to sleep and I see that bitch…..I feel….." Raynare paused again as she gently bit her lower lip and Thierry couldn't help but smile slightly as her face scrunched up cutely in concentration as she tried to think of a way of articulating her feelings.

'_Wait, where the hell did that come from?' _The young Frenchman thought to himself with stark surprise. When the hell did he, Thierry Blanc, find something cute?

He was a trained killer who found euphoria in ripping his opponents into tiny little pieces and butchering people without remorse, so when the hell did he find things _cute_?

'_Don't focus on that, focus on the girl in your arms for god's sakes!' _

"_You feel scared and alone, don't you? You feel powerless as you look up at Gremory with abject fear in your eyes. And you don't want to feel that way but you can't do a single thing about it."_ He offered, earning a shaky nod from Raynare, who spent several moments thinking before turning her gaze towards the young assassin.

"Speaking from experience, huh?" She asked softly, earning a surprised look from the right-hand of Azazel. In all their time together she hadn't asked him a single question about his past, only that he admit to the fact that he was doing this for him as much as her. He'd been worried when she'd first found out that Raynare would go ballistic at him, but she'd only offered understanding and never actually pried into his life.

But now she was.

"_Why do you want to know?" _He asked coolly, earning a caring look from the violet-eyes beauty on his lap.

"Because I care for you."

Now _that _caused Thierry to pause in his thoughts and drop his usual mask of indifference in favour of a small shocked look that Raynare took as a sign to explain herself.

"Dusi…no, Thierry-san. We've only been living together for about a week, but you now know more about me than anyone else in the world ; more than Kalawarmer or Dondesheek. Hell, not even my parents know some of the things you know about me, for god's sake.

And you've done nothing but take care of me and look after me. When you made all those promises, I didn't believe you at first. But as the week has gone on, you've still done nothing but take care of me. You've held me when I've cried , fought me when I've been angry and helped me fall asleep when I've been afraid. And you haven't judged me for it, _ever_.

And now I'm offering you the same. I can _see _you're hurt, Thierry. Whether you admit it or not, whether you show it or not, I can _see it. _I want to help you like you've helped me," She paused her mini speech and brought her head closer to his, so that their faces were mere inches apart and Raynare's hand gently cupped Thierry's left cheek.

"So talk to me. I want to help you… please."

Thierry sat there with wide eyes as he stared at Raynare. He couldn't believe her words at first; nay he refused to believe them what-so-ever when he first hear her utter those words. He was a cold, callous and seriously deranged young man who had been fighting to kill and enjoying it for as long as he had been able to walk and remember. Even when he had been given a golden opportunity to avoid fighting for the rest of his life and given a chance to be _normal _he'd still managed to fuck it up and get involved in this side of the world again. And the trouble was that he didn't feel _bad _about messing up his chance to live normally; not by a long shot. Because no matter what he told himself, Thierry would always _love _killing and fighting…..

Because it was all he had ever known.

Because it was all he had been _born _to do.

And it was all that he likely ever _would _know, judging by the way things were going. So he decided to try and help Raynare understand his predicament. He _cared _for her (in his own odd way) and wanted nothing more than to simply keep her away from all of this….from _this _side of him. She was the same age as him, but she had not seen a hundredth of the things he had, and he refused to burden someone with the horrors he had seen both as a child and as a young teenager.

Because he cared for Raynare.

"_Raynare…you don't want to know about my past." _When the buxom Fallen Angel leaned back and looked ready to protest, Thierry sent a small glare her way that simply told her '_let me finish first', _and so she allowed him to continue.

"_You've put me on this pedestal, like I'm a wonderful and great person. A good man who has simply had traumatic things happen to him. _

_But that's not the truth Raynare. I am a bad man; a bad man who has done enough horrific things in his time to surpass the sins of a billion normal people. If you knew even a miniscule amount of the things I have done, you'd probably try killing me yourself out of outrage or disgust, and I wouldn…" _However, before the young assassin could finish his impromptu speech, Raynare placed a finger to his lips and held the deep blue oceans he called eyes with her own violet orbs.

"Do you regret what you've done?" The question caught the right-hand of Azazel off-guard, but he nodded silently before adding in a voice barely above a whisper.

"_There's not a day that goes by that I don't hate myself for what I've done. For being what I am. I hate myself but at the same time I love the way I feel as well. ." _Raynare smiled gently before wrapping him in a gentle embrace.

"Then you're not a bad man, Thierry. You may have done a lot of terrible things, but that most certainly does NOT make you a bad man. A bad man would feel nothing about his crimes; but the fact that you feel_ something _proves to me that you are a good man; just a good man who may have done a lot of bad things in his lifetime. And I'm sure that you never _**chose **_enjoy it all….and the fact you hate feeling good about such things shows me that you truly are a good man Thierry." She whispered into his ear, earning a small gasp from the infamous hit-man as her warm breath tickled his neck.

'_She may understand me.'_ Thierry thought to himself as he slowly began reciprocating the gorgeous girls' hug. He wouldn't start off big when he decided to finally talk, but he would be nothing short of one hundred percent truthful, like she had been with him.

"_Thank you Raynare. I…..I will talk but….." _

"Tell me when you're ready. Not before and most certainly not under any sort of pressure; I'll wait as long as you need me to."

Thierry smiled gently before looking up at the clock again before turning back to the buxom Fallen.

"I don't know about you, but I could do with some sleep before I leave tomorrow." He commented dryly, earning a sly look from the gorgeous girl on his lap.

"So could I, but the bed is _quite _the walk away and my legs are so~ sore."

Thierry sent her a blank look, which she ignored and instead wrapped her arms around the young assassins' neck even tighter.

"If only someone would _carry _me to _bed_."

….

….

….

….

"_You are so lucky I am too tired to argue with you right now."_

"In my defence, you are abandoning me for ten days; so if you could also grab me…."

"_Don't push your luck Raynare." _

* * *

(10 am: The next day, Gremory Summer House, 28 miles outside of Kuoh town)

Issei Hyodo let out a small sigh of relief as he and the rest of his master's peerage finally reached the main building in which they would be spending the next ten days. The house itself was modelled after an old-school, English Country Manor. The walls were made of thick and heavy stones whilst the front doors were slightly obscured from view via the numerous Greek columns that made up some kind of porch. The windows were easily twice the size of the ones back in the club-room and each seemed to be made of an even more expensive type of wood (if that was at all possible.).

"Here we are. This house normally serves as a Holiday home for me and my family, but seeing as it is very rarely used, my parents have granted us the whole place to train ourselves up over the next ten days so that we can beat Riser-baka once and for all!" Rias stated joyfully, earning a small giggle from her sadistic Queen and nods of approval from Kiba and Koneko.

Issei on the other hand.

"Uooooohhhh~ ! Ten days in the mountains and Prez in nothing but tight…..tight lycra and sports bra's….." The young pervert couldn't help but let out a small, perverse giggle as images of his master in tight-fitting work-out clothes sprang into his mind. However, before his mind could sink further into the gutter, the young man's shin exploded into agony, causing him to let out a howl of pain as he pulled the injured appendage into the air and away from the outstretched leg of one Koneko Tojou.

"Koneko-chan~ what the hell?"

"Pervert-senpai ("Oi!") needs to keep his mind out of the gutter." The petite girl stated calmly in her normal monotone, eliciting a cry of anguish from Hyodo about the unfairness she directed at him. Kiba watched on and laughed uncomfortably whilst rubbing the back of her head, Akeno simply hid her mouth behind her hand and giggled away whilst Rias rubbed the bridge of her nose, but her annoyed air was ruined by a small smirk playing at her lips.

After several seconds, she decided to speak up.

"Okay guys, let's get our stuff in and then get to work!"

"Hai!"

The Gremory group quickly picked their packs up and quickly traversed their way through the building, heading for the main sitting room. However before they reached the room, the sounds of music began to reach their ears. Curious, the group dropped their packs and prepared for a potential enemy.

But upon reaching the room they were greeted by an odd sight.

_**(Play: Ed Sheeran 'Bloodstream')**_

Pierr Dusitoir was sat in a plush arm-chair, a cup of tea gripped in his hands, whilst Grayfia Lucifuge sat opposite him, also a cup of tea gripped in her hands. Pierr's posture was one more designed for comfort and personal preference, whilst Grayfia sat with all the poise and grace one would expect of the 'Ultimate Queen'. On a nearby desk, an expensive sound-system was playing the calm and melodic music that had lead them to this room.

The Gremory group stood there for several seconds, bemused, confused and outright stupefied by the presence of the Queen and wife of Lucifer and the town's resident magician. Eventually, after several seconds, the two of them decided to actually grace the group of devils that had joined them with an acknowledgment.

"You lot are zeriously late, 'ou know zat, right?"

"Indeed, you are quite behind schedule, Rias-samma."

That snapped the group out of their daze, as they watched Pierr casually wave his hand and Grayfia stand up. Unsurprisingly, Rias was the first to react to the situation.

"Grayfia? What are you doing here, and with Dusitoir-san no less?" She asked suspiciously, causing Pierr to role his eyes and mutter something under his breath. Grayfia shot the French ex-patriot a look, which he shrugged off and rolled his eyes at, again. Grayfia shook her head lightly before turning her attention back onto Rias and her peerage.

"Gremory-samma realised that you would not accept any form of direct help from your family, but….." She trailed off, inviting Pierr to finish her statement, which he did with a small smirk playing at his lips.

"Zey decided 'ou still needed 'elp, what with you never having actually overseen training before. So, Lucifuge-san decided to purchase my services for ze next ten days. Brilliant, non?"

Rias stood there with a dumbfounded look on her face, as did the rest of her peerage. After all, why wouldn't they? Here they were, expecting to have ten days to themselves for training and what not, and all of a sudden they've wound up with a coach who not only almost incinerated them ten days ago but also had no proven track-record for them to appraise…..a point which Rias was only too keen to point out.

"But Grayfia, surely you remember what I told you about the other day? And also, Dusitoir-san, whilst he may be powerful, is not guaranteed to be a good trainer. I can guarantee that I know my own peerage better than he do….."

"Heh."

"Something funny, Dusitoir-san?" Rias growled as she looked at the smirking Frenchman.

"Yeah, for a second there I almost thought you said that you know what your peerage needs more than I do." He commented coolly, causing Rias to bristle with indignation at his condescending and some would argue outright rude tone of voice. However, before she could continue, Grayfia spoke up.

"Gremory-san, I can personally vouch for Dusitoir-san's skills and ability as a trainer. I have overseen his plans for the next ten days, as well as shown them to the best trainers within your families employment. Each of them agree that his plans are perfect for your situation, and that he has generated several solution that not even _they _would have thought of, so please show your Sensei for the next ten days the respect he is due." Grayfia finished calmly, causing Rias to bite the inside of her cheek before letting out a small sigh of resignation.

"Fine. I'll trust your judgement on this matter, Grayfia….."

"I just hope you're right about this."

* * *

(Outside the Mansion, twenty minutes later).

Thierry watched with absolute dispassion as the Gremory group approached him, each of them wearing their gender-specific Kuoh academy exercise clothing. Each of them had a smile on their faces as they approached him; talking and laughing like they didn't have a care in the world.

'_These idiots would have been executed within minutes were we back home.' _He thought bitterly to himself. However, before the young assassin could drag himself into his painful memories, the Gremory group finally decided to arrive, stopping some three metres away from him. Thierry brought his gaze off of the floor and turned his steely gaze onto the six teenagers in-front of him. Deciding that he needed to start of strong and emphasise his points early on, Thierry gently began to pace back and forth in front of the group as he spoke, his eyes never leaving theirs as he began his speech.

"_You're here to develop your skills and powers; not as Devils or members of a peerage, but as warriors of a battlefield. _

_You may think you know a lot about fighting, given the fact that you have each now been involved in plenty of stray-devil hunts or battles with other Supernatural foes. But the simple truth of the matter is that you don't know the __**first thing **__about fighting a true battle. Sure you may have skills and abilities that you've used plenty of times; but you all lack the true edge to be what is required on a rating-game battlefield. _

_Your skills are designed for competitions or the foolish 'traditions' of the Devil aristocracy. You limit yourself and do not use your skills to their full potential. So as you train under me, I will not only make you stronger of body and mind, but I will re-forge your spirits into those of warriors. Because if you truly want to win this fight, you must understand what the rating-game is trying to teach you. It was created to not only settle disputes, but also to train Devils and their peerages should war break out again. _

_So in order to win the battle, you must become the warriors the game wants you to become." _Each member of the peerage was looking at him with wide and slightly confused eyes, save for Rias herself. After several seconds of silence, one of them finally decided to speak up.

"Ano, Dusitoir-Senpai, what do you mean 'foolish traditions', if I may ask?" Yumi asked politely, earning a small nod from Thierry.

"_I'm glad it was you that asked this, Kiba. The simple fact of the matter is that with the slight exception of Rias and Akeno, each of you brings in fake 'rules' to a fight; such as traditions and codes of conduct. _

_For example, if you and I were in a battle and I dropped my sword through no fault of my own or any skill on your part, you would allow me to pick it up wouldn't you?," _Kiba nodded, so Thierry continued his speech, "_Or if I called you out for a challenge, you would come and face me. The same goes for each of you; if we were in a hypothetical battle, there are certain things you simply wouldn't do." _Each member of the group (apart from Asia) nodded slightly.

"_The simple fact I will tell you now is that there are __**no **__rules on a battlefield save two: kill or be killed and protect your buddies back. _

_If your opponent has dropped his sword; strike him down without mercy or hesitation. _

_If your opponent is on the ground; beat them till they stop moving and breathing._

_If you and your opponent are locked in some type of stalemate; head-butt them or kick them in the groin. If it's a magical stalemate, use the environment. _

_Nothing is forbidden on a battlefield and everything is permitted, which is why for the next ten day your training will not only focus on making you stronger in terms of power, it will also teach you how __**real **__combat must be dealt with; only with these skills will you be able to beat Riser Phenex and his peerage." _He finished he speech by quickly handing each of the group a small book with a schedule written throughout it, going into immense detail describing the exercises ; their benefits and where they should be at by the end of the ten days minimally.

Several of the group frowned slightly at their schedule, obviously confused as to why they were doing several of their exercises; but they held their tongue for now….except for one.

"Ex…excuse me, Dusitoir-Senpai, but you haven't given me any co…..combat training in my schedule." Asia commented meekly, earning a small nod from Thierry and confused looks from _everyone else. _

"_That's right Asia. I know you don't like hurting people, and with someone as strong of will as you, that's not an issue I can help you overcome in ten days' time." _This caused the girl's mood to lower and her face to start showing signs of unhappiness as she probably assumed that he had labelled her as useless. However, before she or anyone else could speak up, Thierry continued his speech.

"_But that doesn't make you useless. That makes you a strong person. Anyone can say they believe in something or do something religiously. However, only someone with a will of steel can honestly adhere to their beliefs and practices. So instead of trying to break the steel you have, I'm going to work with it instead, hence your focus on magical training, dodging/evasion and training your twilight healing. It makes you just as valuable as anyone else here, okay?" _He finished with genuine kindness. The girl may now be a half-devil, but in all honesty, he couldn't actually hate the girl at all for her life choice. It confused him and made him slightly angry with her, but he couldn't maintain said anger like he could with other Devils, as her reasons weren't cowardly, selfish or foolish. Someone like her was pure of heart, and that was something Thierry Blanc could respect.

Asia literally beamed under the praise whilst the rest of the Gremory group watched on with small smiles.

Sighing, Thierry looked at his watch before making a swishing motion with his hand.

"_Right, each of you head to your assigned locations and get to work. Kiba, I will be along in a few minutes, so make sure you warm up properly." _

And with that, Thierry disappeared with little more than what sounded like the displacement of static.

* * *

_(Near the forests on the east of the estate, with Kiba)_

Kiba breathed a small sigh of relief as she heard the displacement of static which signalled the arrival of his newest Sensei. She had been stretching and practicing lightly for the past fifteen minutes, so she was itching to get into his first ever spar with the enigmatic Frenchman and try out the armour he had given her.

Yumi had noted early on that the young French ex-patriot didn't exactly have the stance of a trained swordsman of her level, and thus she had assumed that like most magicians, Pierr would let his ludicrous magical power do all the talking for him. However, having examined his stance before their training, Kiba had to re-evaluate her beliefs in regards to the hulking Frenchman. His steps carried a light touch that any good swordsman had, but they were also a little bit ungraceful; which meant that he didn't finish his training or he was self-taught. The former meant that he would have a fighting style to analyse and deconstruct, and thus exploit for weaknesses. But if he was a self-taught swordsman, that could make him a lot more dangerous than you'd expect.

Many swords-masters argued that those who were self-taught and bastardised different styles into their own, along with their own moves, were easier to defeat as they could never 'master' their own form, as they had nothing to compare it to. At first glance, the theory made sense, but in actual practice, it was a whole different story.

Those who were self-taught swordsmen or women tended to learn because they needed to use a blade, which meant they had plenty of live combat experience to draw from, making them hardy just due to experience. Also, many self-taught sword user were extremely adaptable, capable of fighting any style with ease and constantly changing theirs so that their opponents would have to consistently change their plans if the wanted to stay in the fight. In fact, it was argued by many that the self-taught style's only actual weakness would be the user itself. If the person using the style wasn't smart enough or strong enough, then they very well may end up getting killed, simply because they were not fast enough on the change or technically strong enough in one specific style.

If Ymi was honest, the only reason sword-masters looked down on those who were self-taught was simply due to snobbery, a fact that Kiba's master had ingrained into her skull many years ago.

So all in all, this promised to be rather interesting.

Turning around, Kiba watched as Pierr closed the distance between them. The French Magician was wearing what could only be described as 'tactical' gear; long-sleeved shirt and Kevlar vest, combat trousers with knee and shin protection and combat boots. Upon his head was a pair of ballistic sunglasses used by soldier in sunny environments and a small knife was holstered to his right forearm, whilst a far larger combat-knife was sheathed in his combat boot.

He looked like a man ready for war.

Well, almost.

"Errrr, Senpai, what's with the case?" Kiba asked. It was a fair question, given the large, almost rectangular case that his 'master' was carrying. It seemed to be made of some sort of metal alloy, and was painted pitch black on the main faces, whilst the edges and handles were painted a faint silver. The young man grinned slightly before holding the case in-front of himself, at chest height.

"_Sorry Kiba, I had to fetch one of my swords. For now I feel this would probably be the best to use against you, seeing as my other two blades have a nasty habit of annihilating rather large areas, so I need to keep them locked up. This is the weakest blade I own…..but make no mistake…" _

Here he paused in his speech, and Yumi watched in fascination as the bottom panels of the case dropped open, and a sheathed sword dropped from within the case, suspended by what appeared to be some sort of magnetic force. Pierr gripped the weapon and threw the case away, before quickly attaching the sheath to his belt and drawing the blade.

"_It's one of the greatest blades you will ever see."_

The blade itself was possibly a quarter of a centimetre thick, as was the grip, and it seemed to be carved from a single piece of metal that Kiba couldn't identify. It was as long as a Japanese Katana, but it held none of the grace of elegance one would expect of the great Samurai weapon. Instead, the beauty of the weapon came from its simplicity; an edge so sharp that Kiba would wager not even her Sacred Gear could re-create it, and a construction so strong that the greatest of blacksmiths would sell their souls to understand. In essence, it was not a weapon that a casual enthusiast of bladed weaponry would be able to admire, in fact, many would disregard it out-of-hand for something far more flashy.

But for a sword-master like Kiba, the weapon was exquisite in its own unique and subtle way. It was the sort of weapon that very few flashy weapons would surpass. And in the end, after all was said and done, as long as it did all of its jobs perfectly, who cared how good it looked? Efficiency and ability was what made a sword beautiful to someone like Kiba. If the weapons also looked good, that was just a bonus; but she would always choose substance over style.

"That's one hell of a sword you have their, Dusitoir-sensei."

"_All the ladies say that, Yumi. And here I was thinking that you would be a little more tactful about getting into my pants." _Pierr commented cheekily, earning an indignant squawk from Kiba as she blushed bright red and began trying to stutter out a reply. Normally she wasn't so easy to fluster, but the young French ex-patriot had caught her off-guard due to their lack of a formal relationship, and had thus left her trying to figure out a witty reply.

"Mah~ Kiba, you're way too easy to fluster. Don't let stuff like that get to you…after all…."

Here, Pierr literally _vanished _into thin air, causing Yumi to raise her weapon in a defensive posture. She stood there for a moment before moving her blade to the left at the last second, barely blocking an arm-jarring side-ways blow from Pierr, who had his sunglasses down and a near psychotic grin on his lips, his face barely inches from Kiba's own.

"You need to press every advantage you get."

With that, Kiba felt her entire nose explode into agony and her vision clouded not with tears and general blurriness. The young half-devil stumbled backwards and blindly lashed out with her European-style long-sword, hoping to catch her opponent and buy herself a bit of time. However, it seemed like she had missed-swung, because within moments, Kiba was barely able to notice her sword being cast from her hand whilst a deep cut formed across the back of it, whilst another slash to the back of both of her knees sent the gorgeous, buxom young woman spiralling to the ground.

After several seconds of lying on the floor, completely disorientated and in pain, the young woman eventually managed to roll over and blink the tears and bleariness out of her vision…..

Only to be greeted the cold steel of Pierr's sword.

Kiba glared up at the Frenchman with a look of absolute loathing in her eyes as she spoke back up.

"You cheated."

Pierr sent her a look of absolute disinterest as he ignored Yumi's words and spoke.

"_And there is your problem." _

"What the hell are you talking about!"

"_You think there is such thing as __**cheating **__in a fight. You think that all the rules and what not you've learnt in your life are applicable on the battlefield. _

_Let me tell you something Kiba, on a battlefield there are no rules of conduct or do's and don'ts; there is merely winning and surviving. I've seen men bite out each-others' throats, use the corpses of their friends as meat-shields and anything and everything as a fucking weapon. War is a fucking cruel an evil business where there are no rules, and the battlefield is the shop in which you deal your trade. _

_And if you want to be of any use in the coming battle, you __**need **__to learn this lesson over the next ten days." _

Kiba sat there, absolutely shell-shocked by the young man's words. Not just by the cold, callous and disconnected way he spoke about it; but also the absolute truth behind his words. Those things he said he had seen, he'd seen everything with his _own _eyes.

'_By the Mao, how the hell is he still sane?' _

Kiba watched, absolutely shell-shocked as the young man retracted his hand, disappeared in a burst of static, and then re-appeared two seconds later with one confused Asia Argento. He pointed to Kiba, and the young woman immediately went to work on Kiba, her face set in a cute frown whilst she questioned her trainer.

"Dusitoir-san, did you really have to hit Kiba-san so hard?"

Pierr merely flicked the blood off of his blade before speaking.

"_Fix her injuries, the moment he is ready, we continue."_

* * *

_(Nine days later, the evening before the day of the match.) _

Thierry let out a small sigh as he made his way towards the outdoors bath having just finished washing in the main building.

The past nine days had been immensely useful, with each and every single member of the Gremory peerage making leaps and bounds in terms of their abilities and power. Akeno had developed a rather basic but efficient close-combat style whilst her reserves had grown quite an amazing amount. Rias was much the same; she now had a few martial arts skills under her belt whilst her control had improved unbelievably. She was still very much woeful, but in terms of where she was, she had made a miraculous improvement.

Next was Kiba.

The gorgeous woman had, at first, been resilient to any and all attempts to re-write his training. However, as the days had worn on, she'd started to adapt. She wouldn't do some things (like strike a weaponless opponent) but she no-longer had the foolish pride of a knight. She wasn't fighting as a soldier _yet _but she had gotten closer to doing so in the past seven or six days than she had ever done in his life…..and as such, Yumi was now a hell of a lot more dangerous than she was previously.

And despite his initial distaste for the gorgeous girl, he honestly had to admit that, much like Akeno, he had come to appreciate the girls company. Her flirtatious and witty nature was refreshing, and Thierry actually enjoyed their banter matches, especially seeing as he always won them (a fact that constantly caused Yumi to pout). He still hated her blood status as a half-devil, but he ultimately overlooked it in favour of her human side (a major step for Thierry's jaded ways).

Asia and Koneko had also made tremendous leaps and bounds: Asia was now easily capable of moving and dodging decent sized and speed attacks, and her magical reserves had grown greatly, therefore enabling her to heal far more grievous wounds than before, and in greater quantity. Koneko, on the other hand, was now far more difficult to hit. Her strength hadn't improved too much, but her agility and speed now more than compensated for it; making her a fast but hard hitting weapon for Gremory to use.

And then there was Issei.

He had made the biggest changes this past week. He was now far faster and stronger, he could now hold his own in a hand to hand fight and his tactical nous had actually grown somewhat. And with regards to the Boosted Gear, he could now boost more and hold the power produced by it longer. His new technique, 'Dragon Shot', was one hell of an attack that had devastated a small mountain less than eight hours ago. He was now Gremory's ace-in-the-hole; if he could promote to Queen, and both Akeno and Kiba were both still in play…they would destroy Riser.

'_But enough of that now. Focus on getting in the water and cooling off for now.'_ He thought to himself calmly.

Pushing open a heavy door, the young man walked out into the bathing area; a small circular area surrounded by Greek-style columns with a Japanese style bath in the centre.

Quickly making his way to the centre, Thierry threw his towel on a rail before gently easing himself into the water. The young man let out a sigh of satisfaction as he felt the hot water seep some heat into his tired and sore limbs. He sat there for what felt like forever, simply basking in the comfort of the heat and silence. Slowly, as he sat there, Thierry drifted from the world of the perceptive to the land of the oblivious.

In fact, so oblivious to the world was he that he never noticed the heavy door opening, nor the sound of soft footsteps as they made their way towards him. The footsteps grew louder and louder until finally a surprised gasp brought Thierry back to the world of the fully conscious. Spinning around, he was greeted by the sight of one Akeno Hijimia; with her modesty hidden by little more than a towel that struggled to cover her substantial bust.

The two sat/stood for several moments, before Akeno finally decided to break the awkward silence that had settled between the two of them.

"I didn't realise you were here Dusitoir-san, please forgive my intrusion ." She bowed her head ever so slightly before she made to leave, but before she could, Thierry spoke up.

"_Feel free to join me Miss Hijimia. The water is full of enough bath-salts and what not so your modesty is hidden if that's got you worried." _

In all honesty, Thierry couldn't actually bring himself to hate the young girl. Despite his initial revoltion of her blood status; Human/Fallen/Devil, he couldn't actually hate her status as a Devil or as Gremory's Queen. To him, he still saw a Fallen Angel first and foremost and Gremorys Queen last; and he respected her choice to become a Devil to a certain extent…he hated it, of course, but he also respected it to a certain degree. After all, to become that which your kind feared and hated most in order to save yourself took a lot of courage; and courage, no matter how foolhardy or mad, was something he could ultimately admire.

So he would make a genuine effort to enjoy her company.

Akeno stood there for several moments before a sly smirk played across her lips, slowly sauntering towards Thierry with a small sway in her hips as she walked.

"Ara, ara Pierr-kun~, trying to seduce me so soon? What would your parents say?" She teased gently, earning a moment of silence from Thierry as she slipped her towel from her shoulders and slipped into the bath. Once she was comfortable, Thierry replied to her quip.

"_I wouldn't know, but I'd like to think my mother would scold me and my father would cheer me on before getting a frying-pan to the face." _He replied softly, earning a shocked look from the buxom young woman as the first part of his words registered with her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't…..."

"_Don't apologise. You didn't know, nor do anything wrong." _He replied calmly, earning an understanding look from Akeno mixed in with a near silent 'thank you.' The two just sat there for a while, enjoying the silence and comfort of the bath for a while before Akeno finally decided to speak up again.

"I haven't had a lot of chances to say it, but I just wanted to offer you my thanks, Dusitoir-san. You've helped us so much over the past ten days, and whilst I respect Rias as my master and love her like a sister, even I knew she wasn't what we needed to get us ready for this match." Akeno commented, earning a dry chuckle from Thierry.

"_You sound a lot like Lady Lucifuge when you say that." _He commented dryly, earning a small giggle from Akeno.

"Ara, a bit close with Grayfia-san, aren't you?"

"Jealous much?"

"Maybe~!" Akeno smirked ever so slightly as she slowly made her way towards the young assassin, causing him to quirk an eyebrow at her actions. His confusion was soon lifted when the girl sidled up next to him before swinging herself onto his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck.

'_Ahhhhhhhhh, this old game, huh? Well, two can play it, my dear Akeno-chan…..two can most certainly play it this way.' _He thought to himself as the girl started speaking.

"Surely you wouldn't leave a girl feeling so sad, upset and lonely now, would you?" She asked in a sultry tone of voice, causing Thierry to smirk ever so slightly as he wrapped his arms around the girl in question.

"_Is there anything…..__**specific **__I can do to help you, Akeno?" _He asked in a voice that was barely above a whisper, earning the slight widening of Akeno's eyes as she realised he wasn't going to fail so miserably in her battle of teasing and wits. So with an even bigger smirk, she pushed her considerable bust up against his chest, causing him to raise an eyebrow as she spoke.

"I think it's more a case of what I can do for you, . ." She punctuated every syllable of his name, each one sounding more and more seductive as she went on, until Akeno was practically purring his name in his ear, causing him to shiver ever so slightly at the sound.

'_And that's the Fallen Angel blood making itself known.' _He thought to himself before wrapping his arms around her and pressing his lips to her right ear before whispering gently to her.

"_Are you certain there's nothing I can do for you? You seemed rather…flushed earlier. Are you sure you are feeling well?" _He asked gently, earning a small shiver from Akeno. His words were based in some truth; she had been rather flushed earlier when he had been talking about pressure points and the debilitations offered by certain strikes. He knew that the girl had a serious S&amp;M streak so it didn't exactly surprise him that she paid…special interest to his CQC lessons.

But even though he wouldn't admit it, he found the predatory way she eyed him up slightly unnerving yet sexy at the same time. He didn't know how the hell that even worked, but if he was honest he didn't really care about understanding; he just hoped she kept that look for a little while longer.

The two sat there for what seemed like forever, lost in one-another's eyes and taking comfort in the warmth of the water and one-another's embrace. Eventually, though they did actually have to move, and it was Thierry who made the first move.

"_Well, despite the fun I've had with you, Miss Hijimia, I'm sad to say that I must be on my way to bed. But if you could inform everyone that they are not to be training __**at all **__tomorrow, I would… __**appreciate it.**__"_

"How much would you appreciate it, Dusitoir-kun?" The buxom young woman purred, earning a small smile from the normally stoic assassin as he pulled her face merely millimetres from his own.

"_Why don't you try and find out?" _ He whispered so quietly that it was like the voice of a ghost, carried upon the wind. Slowly, the young assassin slipped from underneath the famous "Priestess of Thunder" and out of the bathing area, leaving a flushed and smirking Akeno in his wake.

Once she was certain he was out of hearing range, the young girl let out a chuckle before muttering to herself as she slowly relaxed into the water.

"Ufufufu, you win this round Dusitoir-kun. But next time," here she paused as she bit her index finger and shivered ever-so-slightly.

"I'll show you just what I can _really do._"

* * *

_(The Following evening, Thierry's base in Kuoh)_

"_I'm home~!" _

Thierry quickly threw the bag he had slung over his shoulder to one side and kicked off his shoes in the same general direction as aforementioned bag before stretching his arms above his head, taking great pleasure of finally being free from the Gremory estate. He'd enjoyed certain aspects of the training trip (such as his time with Akeno), but he ultimately hated the majority of it. Hyodo was an insufferable idiot, Gremory an arrogant fool and Koneko was far too childish about her heritage. In fact, the only people he could honestly say he enjoyed his time with were Asia, Yumi and Akeno; Akeno and Yumi for their sense of humour and ability to keep up with him during their teasing bouts, and Asia simply because the girl was genuinely nice.

'_Kind of odd that she's so in love with that idiot Hyodo. Honestly, how the hell he can't tell is beyond me.' _

Shelving his thoughts about the Occult Research Club for several moments, Thierry let out a small sigh as he realised that Raynare hadn't respond to his call earlier.

"_Oi, Raynare! Where the hell are you?" _

The moment he didn't even here movement, Thierry tensed. Normally, the young man would receive a holler in response from the buxom Fallen, regardless of where she was in the house, even if it meant that she had to move to a place where she could back to him. So for him to not hear anything from the young Fallen Angel immediately set alarm-bells ringing in his mind; call him paranoid but given his history and the training he had been subjected to, this kind of response was literally ingrained into his mind.

So it was with practiced ease that he summoned his Browning Hi-power pistol into his hand. The silencer was no-longer silenced and the matte-black paint-job had been removed, showing the original finish to be that of a reflective-silver. In an almost robotic manner, the young man slid the magazine out of the weapon to check it was fully loaded, before slamming it back home and pulling back the slide and flicking the safety off.

Raising the weapon to shoulder-height and keeping it pointed forwards, Thierry began to travers the house, taking extra care as he passed-by corners or small alcoves from where an ambush could happen. By this point, almost any person would be breathing heavily or feel their heart racing like crazy; but not Thierry. He had been raised on battlefields and then trained to kill from the shadows without mercy: something like this was barely even worth him opening his eyes for, let alone getting _excited. _

Tell him Kokabiel had finally gone off of the deep-end and was attacking Kuoh Town, then he _may _get a little bit excited.

'_But not even that idiot would be that stupid.'_

Thierry would have continued his mental attack on Kokabiel, but before he could, something else caught his attention.

_**Thud. **_

'_Living room!'_

Immediately, Thierry took off for the aforementioned room. He knew it was a possibility that Raynare may have simply fallen asleep and not caught his calls; but when it came to matters of security and personal well-being, especially with Raynare, he'd rather be safe than sorry. So it was with a certain level of trepidation that he placed his and on the door-knob of the living-room door.

'_Please be okay Raynare.' _

With a heavy push, he swung the door open with the same force as a stallion breaking free from his stall in the stables, before immediately training his weapon on the occupants of the room. Raynare let out a surprised squeal as she leapt from the arm-chai she was in as Thierry entered the room with about as much grace as a herd of elephants on the run. The second person merely let out an all-too-familiar chuckle that caused a tick-mark to form on the young assassins head.

"_God damn it Azazel! How many times have I got to tell you not to break into my fucking houses, you old bastard?" _

"Jesus Thierry-kun, I come here to see how you are and this is the response I get?" The Viceroy of the Fallen Angels commented off-handedly as he took a sip of the saucer of Sake he had in his hand, causing Thierry to growl in annoyance and the ancient Fallen's flippant nature, whilst Raynare just watched the two of them break down into a childish argument.

"_Old sleaze-bag!" _

"Workaholic!"

"_Man-whore!" _

"Virgin!"

"_That's not true and you know it!" _

"Prostitutes don't count!"

"_Bull-shit, then ninety nine percent of your 'conquests' don't count!" _

"FUCK YOU! MY HAREMS WERE REAL YOU LITTLE SHIT!"

"_You sure they weren't just a product of your imagination?" _

"At least the women I bed don't look like pears."

"_OH THAT'S IT YOU FUCKING…"_

The young Fallen Angel literally couldn't believe what was transpiring in-front of her. The two most feared men in the Grigori, Azazel and Thierry Blanc, were currently arguing like two five year old children fighting over a toy. However she could tell it was all in good fun, if the amused look on Azazel's face and the happy look in Thierry's eyes was anything to go by.

Still, the whole thing was so ridiculous, so absolutely stupefying that she could only do one thing.

And that was laugh.

The two arguing men quickly tore their attention away from one-another and instead turned it to the buxom Fallen Angel who was currently howling with laughter as she sat in her seat. After several moments, Azazel couldn't help but chuckle along whilst Thierry merely let out a sigh whilst a small smirk played at his lips as he made his way over to another cabinet in the room. Once he was far enough away, the two pure-blood Fallen Angels managed to control their laughing enough to communicate with one another.

"Azazel-samma, are you two…you know…"

"Always like this?"

"Yeah."

"Pretty much, Raynare-chan. Thierry is a pretty intense person most of the time, so I have to help him unwind from time-to-time so he doesn't annihilate his training facility or blow all his cash on something stupid." He commented off-handedly, earning a slightly confused look from Raynare, however before she could question what he had said, Thierry returned with three glasses and an extremely expensive looking bottle of Whiskey. Azazel went to protest, but before he could , Thierry spoke up.

"_Shut it old man. There's no way I'm letting you drink that donkey-piss when there's a perfectly good bottle of Glennfidich in the house." _He commented dryly, earning an affronted look from Azazel and a small chuckle from Raynare. Nether-the-less, the Viceroy of the Grigori magically stored his Sake before graciously accepting a glass of the honey-coloured drink, as did Raynare. Thierry sat down in on the sofa, and gestured for Raynare to join him, which she happily did; pressing her body comfortably into his side and resting her head on his shoulder, which earned a small smile from Azazel that went unnoticed by the two younger beings.

'_Looks like you're doing a good job, Raynare.'_

Taking a small sip of his drink, Thierry waited for the comforting burning-feeling to fade away before he spoke up.

"_Drinks and merriment aside Azazel, what the heck are you doing here_?" He asked casually, earning a smile from the Viceroy.

"Well~ seeing as you spent ten days with the Gremory peerage, I figured that you'd appreciate the chance to watch your hard work pay off." With that, the television screen flickered on, showing three people: two men and a woman, who were apparently talking about the upcoming rating match. He wasn't really paying attention to what they were saying in any detail, but the general consensus was that Riser Phenex was going to easily win.

"_Huh, those devils sure are in for a rude awakening." _Thierry commented as he took another sip of his drink, earning a small laugh from the Viceroy of the Grigori.

"I do hope so Thierry, what with the three million euros you charged for this."

"_THREE MILLION EURO'S?" _Raynare screeched, causing Thierry to wince and glare at her (an act which made the buxom young girl blush madly in embarrassment).

"_How the hell do you know about that?" _He asked calmly. Azazel's response was to simply grin like a mad-man before downing what was left of his Whiskey.

"You seem to forget who I am."

"_What, an old pervert_?"

"Fun-Nazi!"

"_Gigolo!" _

"Dumbass!"

"_Crow-winged bastard!" _

"Virgin!"

"_Oh really original you…." _

"Gentlemen!" Raynare cut in before the two could really get into it again, causing the two of them to shift their attention to the buxom young Fallen Angel.

"What?"

Pointing towards the T.V, Raynare let out a sigh before speaking.

"The match is starting."

….

…..

…..

….

"Oh."

* * *

_**ARMOURY; **_

_**The Jackal's Claw:**_

_**The Jackal's Claw (Or 'The Claw') is based off of a human world design; it weapon capable of cutting through almost everything by vibrating so fast that it cuts through the very bonds that hold atoms together. The model used by Thierry is slightly different to its 'normal' counterpart, in that instead of using a battery unit to keep the blade running, it uses the natural electricity produced by Thierry's body due to his affinity for lightning magic. **_

_**However, despite its many impressive features, the weapon itself is not capable of slicing through magically re-enforced objects, as it is incapable of overcoming the magics used to make said item. This doesn't mean it cannot be used against supernatural foes; it merely means that Thierry would not be able to simply carve his way through a holy sword or certain armours; he would have to bypass them in the same manner as everyone else. **_

_**The blade itself doesn't have many special abilities beyond those discussed. Unlike (NAME RETRACTED) and (NAME RETRACTED), the Weapon is not really 'special' in terms of magical properties. It is still capable of widespread destruction, but no-where near the scale of Thierry's remaining two blades. **_

* * *

_**A/N:**_

_**Annnnnnnnd done. **_

_**Okay, here we are, chapter 4 repost complete. Yaaaaay! **_

_**Now, before any of you start about Thierry , Yumi and Akeno, I would like to tell you that Thierry still HATES devils; he just doesn't see Akeno or Kiba as one. Like I said in the text, Thierry overlooks Akeno'ss half-devil status because she is still roughly a quarter Fallen Angel, Thierry's favourite race, whilst he likes Yumi based on her status as a Half human. However, he also still despises basically the entirety of Gremory's peerage and the concept of reincarnation. **_

_**That and he finds both Akeno and Yumi EXTREMLY attractive. **_

_**And therefore means. **_

_**Harem Update: **_

_**Kuroka **_

_**Raynare **_

_**Akeno**_

_**Yumi**_

_**?**_

_**?**_

_**?**_

_**?**_

_**Not a surprise, I'm sure. **_

_**I added Yumi based on the results of my poll, with 86% of the vote going in favour of adding her to Thierry's harem. Now you can't call me an obstinant author who doesn't listen :p. **_

_**Now originally I received a LOT of messages asking for Rossweiss to be added to Thierry's harem, and as such I have put up a NEW poll to see if people still want this to happen; SO GO VOTE MORTALS, AND YOUR BENEVOLENT GOD SHALL LISTEN *MWHAHAHAHAHAHA*. **_

_***Ahem*, okay, egomaniacal alter-ego stored away, I guess this is as good a place as any to wrap things up. So for now all I have to say is leave a review so that you can tell me what you liked and disliked about this chapter, and perhaps if you liked the story, why not drop a fave or a follow (or maybe even both)? If only so you can easily keep up-to-date with this story. **_

_**Oh, and before I forget, if we can get to thirty plus reviews by tomorrow, I shall not only upload the next chapter of THIS story, but also the FIRST chapter of my first (for this account) cross-over of Highschool DxD…but only if you guys review. **_

_**So you all know what to do ;) **_

_**Peace out, **_

_**And keep it real Like a Ninja. **_

_**MetalGearMantis **_


	5. Chapter 5

**Authors Notes = A/N**

"Normal Speech."

'_Thoughts." _

"_Foreign Language." _

**Sacred_ Gears/Weapon spirits speech.]_**

'_**Sacred Gear/ Weapon spirits thoughts." **_

* * *

**A/N: And here's chapter 5 yaaaay!**

**This is the first NEW chapter; I say again, this is BRAND NEW CONTENT. So for all you old faithful's from my original uploading and you new-comers, I present to you the glorious first instalment of my life as MetalGearMantis...my first real chapter under this account. So please do enjoy this! **

**Okay, A/N done! **

**LET'S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD!**

**(P.S: Happy Easter Folks! Sorry I didn't upload but you DID fail to meet the reviews target...but then again I didn't expect too many, so it doesn't matter. Especially seeing as I was going to release this today anyways :p) **

* * *

_Disclaimer: I would like to clearly state that I do not own (and more than likely never will) Highschool DxD or any other series mentioned in this story. The rights to said series belongs to their rightful owners. I merely own the intellectual property rights of my OC, Thierry Blanc. I do not, nor ever intend to, profit from the writing of this Fanfiction, and I am merely writing it for non-profit entertainment purposes only. _

* * *

_(Last time in: The Jackal Of the Grigori) _

_Taking a small sip of his drink, Thierry waited for the comforting burning-feeling to fade away before he spoke up. _

"_Drinks and merriment aside Azazel, what the heck are you doing here?" He asked casually, earning a smile from the Viceroy. _

"_Well~ seeing as you spent ten days with the Gremory peerage, I figured that you'd appreciate the chance to watch your hard work pay off." With that, the television screen flickered on, showing three people: two men and a woman, who were apparently talking about the upcoming rating match. He wasn't really paying attention to what they were saying in any detail, but the general consensus was that Riser Phenex was going to easily win. _

"_Huh, those devils sure are in for a rude awakening." Thierry commented as he took another sip of his drink, earning a small laugh from the Viceroy of the Grigori. _

"_I do hope so Thierry, what with the three million euros you charged for this." _

"_THREE MILLION EURO'S?" Raynare screeched, causing Thierry to wince and glare at her (an act which made the buxom young girl blush madly in embarrassment)._

"_How the hell do you know about that?" He asked calmly. Azazel's response was to simply grin like a mad-man before downing what was left of his Whiskey. _

"_You seem to forget who I am." _

"_What, an old pervert?" _

"_Fun-Nazi!" _

"_Gigolo!" _

"_Dumbass!" _

"_Crow-winged bastard!" _

"_Virgin!" _

"_Oh really original you…." _

"_Gentlemen!" Raynare cut in before the two could really get into it again, causing the two of them to shift their attention to the buxom young Fallen Angel. _

"_What?" _

_Pointing towards the T.V, Raynare let out a sigh before speaking. _

"_The match is starting." _

…_._

…_.._

…_.._

…_._

"_Oh." _

* * *

**_(Chapter Four: A Rating Game for the ages.)_**

* * *

(With Thierry, Raynare and Azazel)

"_Gremory had better have taken my lessons to heart. I didn't spend most of my nights working on a plan for her just so she could ignore it and try to come up with something on the fly. I'll go to her engagement party and kick her arse from here to Lilith if she does." _Thierry growled out in his native French as he downed the final remnants of his drink as the three of them sat there, watching as the Gremory peerage appeared inside of an exact replica of their club-room at school. Naturally, Raynare was surprised by his words, but Azazel wasn't, which was characterised quite neatly by his boisterous laughter.

"Ma~ you're being mean Thierry-kun."

"How so?"

"You're assuming that Rias-san is just going to reject your advice out of hand. That's being judgemental, which isn't very nice you big meanie!" Azazel said in a child-like voice, earning a deadpan look from Raynare and an impassive mask form Thierry as he re-filled his glass.

"She's a devil."

"And that's racist!"

"I don't care; it's true." Thierry shot back casually, earning a small shake of the head from Azazel and a slightly shocked look from Raynare as she heard his racial slur. With a small sigh and a quick shake of the head to clear his thoughts, Thierry brought his glass to his lips and took a deep gulp of his drink before focusing his attention back onto the Gremory Peerage as Rias sat them down to begin the discussion in regards to their strategy.

'_Let's see if she fucks up my plan.' _

* * *

(Pocket Dimension copy of Kuoh Academy)

Akeno smiled ever so slightly as Rias calmly sipped at the cup of tea in-front of her. Ten days ago, her best friend would have been a blithering mess, incapable of keeping even a calm front, let alone be capable talking. But now, instead of that, her friend was calm, cool and collected; she had the look of someone who Akeno would honestly follow into the fires of combat and back.

She looked ready.

Most importantly though, she genuinely looked like she could win the match now. And it was all thanks to a certain French ex-patriot back home; and it looked like she owed him a rather large _thank-you _when her and her group got back…after they had won the match, of course.

Akeno watched with a calm and peaceful smile as Rias stood up and moved to lean on the front of her desk. Calmly folding her arms under her bust, Rias took a small calming breath before she finally decided to break the suffocating silence that had permeated through the room for the past five or so minutes.

"Okay, I'm not going to lie. Even with the ten days training we've been subjected to under Dusitoir-san, our chances for victory are only at a fifty-fifty realistically…but that's only if we don't follow his advice." Rias began her speech calmly, as if she had given such important speeches a thousand times in her life. Slowly, she forced herself off of the desk and waved her right hand, bringing up a fairly large magical-map of Kuoh academy, rendered in 3D and based in a rather fitting red colour scheme.

"Our first order of business is to take out Riser's pawns and knights. Our peerage is fast and hard-hitting, so we need to eliminate the only pieces that can use promotion or that are naturally fast in order to keep the advantage.

As such, the first phase of the match is all going to be hit and run or guerrilla tactics; Kiba, I need you to hold position here, just on the clearing to the forest that will lead to our territory. Riser will bring a scouting party around here and thus we need to take them out, so use the forest to your advantage, however you see fit. Personally, me and Pierr suggest luring them in and then using any clearings to take them down." Yumi Kiba nodded seriously, her face set in a stony mask of determination as her King fed her orders. Akeno watched on as Rias slowly began to pace around the map, pointing to the school gym with one of her well-manicured nails.

"Ise-kun, Koneko-chan, I need you two to set an ambush in the school gym. There are plenty of heavy items that you can use for fall traps or other gear that could take out the pawns. If there's a Knight or Rook present then you'll need to get involved and take them out the old-fashioned way; just make sure that you make it out alive and in one piece.

One we've taken out the pawns and knights, Riser's queen is our next target. Myself and Akeno will deal with her, whilst the three of you get stitched-up by Asia back here in the club-room. After that, I'll send you three back out to take on whatever's left of Riser's peerage before we all re-group and then take on that Fried-chicken bastard and put him down for good." Rias finished by manipulating the map's imagery to show their motely group surrounding Riser and kicking him whilst Asia tried to persuade them away from the wholly necessary (in Akeno's eyes) violence, earning a small chuckle from everyone (bar Asia). Turning her head to Akeno, Rias nodded her head slightly, prompting the buxom young woman to pull the box that was currently on her lap into her hands before standing up and opening the box.

Within were six plain black, extremely expensive looking mortal-world combat radios. The reason that Pierr had given them these odd pieces of mortal technology had actually been rather ingenious; their enemies wouldn't be able to intercept the messages. Normally, Devils or other supernatural beings would use magic to communicate with one-another on both a real battlefield and in a rating-game. However, said magical communications could be tapped into via the use of the correct spells, and thus any orders given over a magical 'frequency' would be useless, as there would be no way of verifying whether or not they had been compromised.

Mortal radio frequencies were different though; they couldn't be intercepted via magical means. It was kind of a 'water and oil' situation. The two different types of communications were so vastly opposite that there was currently not a single spell that allowed a member of the supernatural to listen into radio-chatter. In order to do so, one would have to do it in exactly the same manner as a mortal would.

And given that their opponent would be on the look-out for magical lines of communications, and have absolutely no-way of intercepting non-magical communications; these mortal pieces of technology were perfect for their plans.

"These radios will help us keep in-touch with one-another. Dusitoir-san was kind enough to donate them to us so that Riser won't be able to tap into our communications, so we will be able to talk freely over the line. However, that doesn't mean that you can just talk and talk; keep the chatter to a minimum and only use it to share battle-critical information." Rias instructed her peerage sternly, earning serious nods from everyone present as they quickly began to fit themselves into the headsets. It took several moments (and a bit of elbow grease with Asia), but eventually each of them was kitted out and ready for battle.

Rias smiled ever so slightly before she offered her peerage the final words that Akeno knew that Thierry had drilled into them over the past ten days.

"Remember everyone: _No Prisoners, no mercy. Press every advantage you get and abuse every chance you're given. This is not a game anymore; this is a battlefield and Riser is the enemy you need to kill. _So let's do this, okay?" Her words were absolutely ice-cold, causing Akeno's eyes to widen ever-so-slightly. She had never heard her friend speak with such ruthlessness; it was as if someone completely different now stood before her.

The young Hijemia's shock only lasted for several more moments before she remember something rather important.

Ten days ago, Rias Gremory was a young devil heiress looking for a way out of a bleak and almost hopeless situation; a fact that infuriated and shattered her at the same time.

Ten days ago, Rias Gremory had never been to a battlefield, let alone partaken in a rating game; and that thought terrified the so-called 'Crimson-haired Ruin Princess'.

Ten days ago, Rias Gremory hadn't actually been a student of Pierr Dusitoir.

Now though, ten days later?

Now, Rias Gremory looked like a hardened devil general of the Great War leading her troops into battle again.

Now, Rias Gremory looked as if she had fought on a thousand battlefields and won victory from the very jaws of defeat itself with reckless and almost suicidal decisions.

Rias Gremory, heiress to one of the most powerful and influential families in the Underworld, the 'Crimson-haired Ruin Princess' and the younger sister of the current devil King Lucifer looked like she was about to lead her men to victory once again….she looked like this whole battle was merely to entertain the masses back home.

She looked like a warrior ready to deal with her routine business.

And Akeno couldn't help but feel inspired by her King's shift in demeanour, which is why she guided the rest of the peerage to the front of the old-school building with one thought filling her mind.

'_Maybe we __**can **__actually do this.' _

* * *

_(Undisclosed location, Underworld.)_

Grayfia Lucifuge couldn't help but let her lips quirk ever so slightly into a frown as she watched her sister-in-laws peerage begin moving into position for the first stage of a certain Frenchman's plan. Grayfia had never before contacted a human to help her deal with a family issue, The 'Silver Haired Queen of Annihilation' often preferring to use members of the Gremory family or those they worked with to help sort out any problems that she could not directly get involved with. However, she decided to break that rule for her sister-in-law when she contacted and purchased the services of one Pierr Dusitoir.

Her initial testing of the boys powers had revealed just how strong he was. The aura she had sent at him had been by no means weak, and yet he was able to quickly throw it off like nothing. And if that wasn't impressive enough, the fact that he had the ability to expertly manipulate both fire _and lightning _at the same time proved that he was truly a prodigy of a magician; after all, most magicians only ever focus on one major elemental branch of magic, and those that do end up controlling more than one tend to be at least one hundred years or more in age. So for Pierr to be able to control two elements indicated he was truly a gifted young man.

However, Grayfia couldn't help but feel alarm-bells ringing when she first made contact with the boy. The way he spotted her and easily manipulated his movements to always ensure that she was not only within eyesight, but that she was also always easy for him to hit with magic, whilst she would be hard-pressed to hit him at such a distance with any quick spells. Normal people were not capable of doing that kind of thing; that took training in espionage and counter-surveillance that had taken Grayfia years working on during the Civil War. For him to be so well versed in such techniques, the boy had to have been trained from a very young age…

And that was a worrying thought.

So, after her initial meeting, the 'Ultimate Queen' had a background check run on the young man…..and what she found was shocking. Not because it put her sister-in-law or her peerage at risk, but because it sent every single one of her motherly instincts into over-drive.

Pierr Dusitoir may have been French by name, but he was most certainly not French by birth. In fact, the young man in question was only registered as a 'French National' for about four years. Prior to that, Pierr Dusitoir had grown up in arguably the most horrific country of the late nineties and early to mid two-thousands.

Zencasia.

Zencasia was a moderately sized country in the middle of Africa that was ruled by a tyrannical government, headed up by a ruthless warlord who had forced out the previous democratic government via a military coup. Said warlord had ruled with an iron fist for years, and was left un-checked because the rest of the world was simply too pre-occupied with protecting their oil supplies in the middle-east. However, by the late nineties, a resistance movement called the 'National Zencasian Liberation Front' or NZLF for short, sprang into life and began a brutal civil war that would tear the country to pieces.

Murder, rape and genocide was the order of the day as the Zencasian 'government' did everything and anything in order to keep control…..

And that included the use of Child soldiers.

The very thought made Grayfia want to scream in outrage and annihilate the entire country for what they did to hundreds, if not thousands of children. As a mother, she could imagine the pain that so many women felt as their children were taken away from them, most only four or five, to be raised as soldiers for the government. Millicas was her pride and joy, the one thing in the world she loved more than the rest of her family and her own life; and she couldn't imagine what she would do without him if he was taken from her. She had broken down crying for the first time in years as she read about the atrocities that were committed by men and children alike, and her husband had fared little better when she told him why she was crying.

Being tortured and torturing others.

Being executed and performing executions.

Beatings.

Death-matches for the older soldiers entertainment

Being forced to swim through mud, blood, guts and excrement.

Fighting on the front-lines.

Children leading _other _children into battle.

The mere thought that someone like Pierr Dusitoir had grown up in _that _kind of environment wrenched Grayfia's heart more than she thought possible. She couldn't actually understand how he managed to stay so…..

Normal.

She knew the effects of war first hand, and she couldn't believe how well adjusted Pierr was, considering the amount of violence, death and the horrific things he had probably seen and possibly even been forced to do over the course of his short life.

She had no-idea how he managed to get to France, but as far as she was concerned, Grayfia Lucifuge considered the person who saved Pierr to be an absolute saint. They had saved a good person from an early grave or from being damaged too greatly, and that alone warranted her respect. She didn't know the exact specifics for Pierr's life, but she could imagine what it may have been like…

And she wouldn't wish a fate like that upon even her greatest and most hated enemies during the Devil Civil war.

Shaking her head lightly, Grayfia shook her head lightly to dispel the dark thoughts from her head just as someone in the room spoke up.

"That was one hell of a speech that Rias just gave, wasn't it?" A red-haired man commented cheerfully to the other people in the room. He looked like a very rugged male version of Rias at thirty-five, with a strong build (currently hidden by a plain white suit and black shoes) and a handsome face that was currently sporting a full goatee.

"Indeed, Joseph. Your daughter seems to have undergone quite the change in the past ten days." Another, deep and slightly accented voice replied to the now Identified Lord Gremory. The owner of said voice also appeared to be a man in his mid-thirties, but instead of aqua-green eyes and red-hair, this man had bright blond hair and cool-blue eyes, whilst his slightly more lithe frame was clad in a dark-red, pin-striped suit and black shoes.

"Damn right, my little Ria-tan is looking ready for this battle now!" The third presences in the room commented jovially, earning a slight twitch of the eyebrow from Grayfia. The owner of said voice was a young looking man who seemed to be a beard-less and less weathered version of the Joseph. He was currently clad in a rather exuberant uniform; heavy gold and silver shoulder-guards and chest-plate, whilst a regal Imperial purple cloak flowed from his shoulders. Cuffing the young man on the back of the head, Grayfia sent the young man a pointed glare that earned a sheepish chuckle from him and a chuckle from everyone in the room.

"Sirzech-samma, please behave properly. You are a Satan, not a child." She told him sternly, earning a rather disturbing pout from the young man who eventually cowered under his wife's glare.

This ladies and gentlemen, was Sirzech Lucifer: The current Lucifer of the Satan's, one of the two Super-Devils in existence, a total Sis-con…..

And a man who was utterly whipped by his wife.

"Yes Grayfia-chan." He muttered, earning a stiff nod from Grayfia and more chuckles from those present. Eventually though, the focus shifted from Sirzech as the current Lord Gremory's wife spoke up.

"To be honest, I am surprised that Grayfia actually managed to persuade Rias into accepting someone training her and her peerage. When she first told us that, I didn't believe her, but seeing the way that Rias and her peerage are now acting; and the amount of money that she had to move to secure this man's services, I have to say she must've pulled off a small miracle." Venelana Gremory commented lightly. The current Lady Gremory looked like a brown haired and eyed and slightly shorter version of her daughter, and was currently wearing a rather formal dress, as was her blond haired and blue eyed Phenex Counterpart, Layla.

"It was easier than you would think, Gremory-San. Rias was far more accepting of help when it was from someone close to her own age." Grayfia supplied causally, earning a nod from most people in the room and a slight wince from her husband; he was the only one that she had told of the potential past for Pierr, the topic of their new discussion.

"Indeed, if your reports are fully accurate, then this Pierr Dusitoir could be a very valuable ally in the coming days." Joseph commented, obviously already dreaming of the destruction such a young man could wreck on their foes. However, before the current Lord Gremory could say anything, the final presence in the room spoke up.

"Don't get any ideas, Jo-kun. Pierr-kun's my little So-Tan's target and I can't possibly let you upset my precious little sister." The voice was distinctly younger than the others in the room, but it did sound slightly put-on. The owner of said voice appeared to be no older than fourteen or fifteen and was a very gorgeous girl with deep violet eyes and black hair that was currently pulled into twin-tails, and her voluptuous (yet short) frame was currently clad in a pink 'Magical girl' outfit and was sat cross-legged on a table.

This was none other than Serafall Leviathan, one of the four great Satan's and the second of the two recorded 'Super Devils'. Joseph chuckled slightly at the girls words as he scratched the back of his head lightly.

"Ahahah I wasn't going to recruit him for my peerage; merely offer him status as my contract magician. The boy is apparently already worthy of being called S-class, and you can hardly blame me for wanting such a powerful young man on side." He commented lightly, earning a slight glare from the current Leviathan.

"But seeing as Sona found him first, she obviously takes priority." Joseph finished with a small, nervous, chuckle, earning a bright smile from Serafall as she turned her attention back to the screen…..and just in time to catch the first significant bit of action.

* * *

_(With Kiba, Rating Game battlefield, Gremory Group's Eastern Flank, Forests) _

'_Come on, keep following me. That's it you clueless mugs, keep following yours truly!' _Yumi thought to herself gleefully as she lead the first of Riser's Knights and accompanying thee pawns on a wild goose-chase through the forest on the Gremory group's Eastern Flank.

It hadn't taken Yumi too long to find who she was looking for; given the amount of noise that they had been making as they casually strolled towards her master's territory. Normally that would have caused the gorgeous girl's temper to flare and lead to her lashing out; but after ten days of being taught by Pierr Dusitoir, she had learned that no matter the situation and no matter how angry you got, there was always a way you should channel your feelings.

And that was into _efficiency._

If you were angry in fight, you let the anger fuel your blows but not _guide _them.

If you were relaxed and controlled, you let that feeling show and irritate you opponent.

Each and every emotion or feeling had its do's and don'ts, and Kiba had been forced to learn them _very_ quickly. After all, she liked the way her perfectly formed ass was, and she didn't want it damaged by getting kicked around too much by her crazily strong teacher, so she had adapted quickly and learnt how to use such emotions. She was by no means brilliant in the art, and certainly no-where near Thierry's level. But she was far more skilled than any other member of her master's peerage, and as such she knew she had to use this ability as efficiently as possible.

Casting a glance over her shoulder, Yumi caught sight of one of Riser's knights, Siris if she remembered correctly, hot on her heels. There was some ten to fifteen meters between them, and in order for the first stage of Kiba's plan to work, she needed to keep that distance as it was. So, pumping a little extra demonic energy into her legs, Yumi managed to easily keep her foe at a good distance until she finally passed her marker.

Said marker was a snapped branch on a tree that she had just been forced to side-step; it marked the point at which Yumi needed to send out a small pulse of demonic energy so that the first part of her ambush would work. Letting said pulse go, Yumi let a small grin cross her face that was eerily similar to her French teacher….just as the pulse reached the runes.

**BOOM! **

{_**Riser Phenex's Knight has retired.**_}

'Yes!'

Yumi couldn't help but let a small chuckle escape her lips as she turned around and caught sight of the Knight turning into blue magical particles as she was pulled from the battlefield. Turning on her heels, Yumi immediately turned back around and sped back to where she had come from, intent on setting the second part of her plan into action.

Side-stepping, ducking and jumping through the forest with her luscious blond hair trailing behind her as she raced to enact the second part of her plan. Using her sacred-gear, Sword Birth, to summon an standard issue European broad-sword to her waiting grasps. Turning the speed up, the buxom young woman went flying through the forest as little more than a blur. She truly loved it when she travelled at full speed, it allowed her the opportunity to feel free and natural. Almost as much as fighting with a sword.

Eventually, after several moments of high-speed travel, Yumi came to a halt at the edge of a clearing, where the verdant green leaves of the underbrush offered her ample camouflage from the three pawns of Riser that were currently huddled in the centre of the clearing. The three of them looked genuinely shocked and confused as to what had just happened. One of them made to talk to the other two, leaving not a single set of eyes facing Yumi at all. Said buxom blond frowned slightly as the words of Pierr came back to her as she eyed up a path of attack; initially she had been shocked and horrified by her mentors words. However, as the ten days dragged on and as she continued to learn _real _battlefield craft, Dusitoir's words actually began to carry some weight with the young girl.

"_If your enemy has their back turned on you Miss Kiba, they are __**still **__your enemy, and therefore they are still fair-game." _

If you had asked her to attack her foe from behind just twelve or eleven days ago, Yumi Kiba would have stead-fastly refused and called you a dishonourable wretch…..

Now she would do it, even if it was with hesitation.

Taking a calming breath, Yumi quickly treble-checked her line of attack before darting from the tree-line like a viper striking after its prey. She was an indecipherable blur as she literally _flew _across the gap between her and her foes in a matter of seconds. The moment she was within distance, she raised her blade and unleashed a side-ways slice with a speed that only few could ever hope to follow and fewer could achieve.

The girl who stood next to her first victim let out a horrified shriek as her allies head fell from her shoulders and the crimson liquid of life splattered her face red whilst spinal fluids matted her hair to her head and her allies' dismembered body dissolved into blue magical particles. Kiba turned on her heels and darted towards the blood-spattered woman. However, it appeared that she did have something about her as she spun around and brought her bo-staff to bear.

Scoffing lightly, Kiba used all of the strength in her right arm to bring her blade down in an absolutely vicious arc that shattered the bo-staff wielded by Riser's pawn, and embedding it in the ground. Realising her mistake, Yumi immediantly activated her sacred gear and summoned another basic sword to her left hand, this time a Roman Glaudius. Snapping her arm forwards, Yumi's second victim let out a pain-filled choke as twenty inches of cold Roman-style steel found itself imbedded up to the hilt in the young girls chest.

Taking a moment, Kiba watched with absolute disinterest as her opponent slowly fell backwards, blood dribbling from the corner of her mouth like a river, before her body too disappeared into little more than the hauntingly beautiful blue magic particles that signified the Rating Game's safety measures had been kicked in so that said person did not actually die. Kiba didn't know the exact magic behind it all, but what she did know was that it stopped anyone from being mortally wounded, and that was all that mattered to Kiba.

Shaking her head lightly, Kiba turned her attention to the last member of the scouting party, who stood there absolutely frozen to the spot. Allowing a predatory smirk to grace her features, Kina decided to put Pierr's psychological attacks to work as she casually pulled her main broad-sword out of the dirt and strut towards her petrified opponent, whilst casually noting the voice of Sona Sitri making another announcement.

{_**Riser Phenex's three Pawns and one Rook have retired.**_}

Yumi felt her heart soar with joy as she heard that announcement. It meant that Koneko and Issei had managed to take out their targets, and if the rather large explosions were anything to go by, it sounded like Akeno was getting started with phase three of their plan. Everything was actually going _their way, _Pierr's brutal plan was actually _working. _Ten days ago they would have been annihilated within minutes, and now they were actually well on the path to _winning _this fight.….and as such, the gorgeous blond girl could only mutter one thing as she finished closing the distance between her and her opponent.

"I may have to kiss Pierr when I get back if we win."

* * *

_(Kuoh Academy Sports Hall, three minutes prior to Sona's announcement ) _

Issei and Koneko watched as the four members of Riser's peerage that Pierr had anticipated would come marched in with cocky smirks plastered onto their faces. The group consisted of three pawns and a rook; one of the pawns being the Chinese, bo-staff wielding bitch that kicked Issei's perverted ass ten days ago, whilst the other two were the crazy-looking cat-twins. Issei's thoughts _were _about to stray into typical perverted territory.

_Were _being the operative word.

"Ouch! Koneko." Issei hissed at the loli-sized girl cuffed him around the back of the head. Said girl merely sent him her usual cold and impassive look before replying in her traditional monotone.

"No perverted thoughts ero-senpai ("Oi!"), need to focus." She replied quietly from her position atop a steel-support frame, with a vaulting-box that was currently stuffed full of as many heavy objects as they could scavenge, resting in her hands above her head. Issei shot her a dirty look before turning his attention to the bundle of javelins resting in his hand. Koneko had used some basic magic to reinforce them so that they would be able to harm Riser's peerage, and then used more magic to tie them all together with a spell that would eventually break in order to create a mini cluster-bomb; crude and brutal it may have looked, but if Pierr Dusitoir was to be believed then it was most certainly efficient in its job.

Turning his attention back to the group on the floor below him, Issei tightened his grip on the bundle as the group passed the edge of the basket-ball shooting area and towards the half-way mark, which was the point at which Issei and Koneko would begin their attack. Realising he had a few moments, Issei allowed his mind to wonder a little to the past ten days. Ten days ago, even if he had boosted to his limit, he would have had a bit of a tough time just keeping the javelin-bundle at shoulder-level, let alone _throwing _the damn thing. However, Issei could now afford to merely boost the once, and the damned things were barely noticeable, so he didn't doubt his ability to throw the things.

Yet despite all of this, all of the help that he had given them Occult Research Club, despite giving Issei the power to protect his precious master, he couldn't help but feel that Pierr Dusitoir was hiding something from them all. The way he talked about war, killing and these brutal tactics held some seriously bad connotations in Issei's mind; it meant that Pierr had been in some pretty nasty situations if he needed to learn all of this… but for now, it wasn't putting the ORC in any sort of danger, so Issei was willing to let the young French ex-patriot keep his secrets.

After all, everyone was entitled to them.

Hey, he may have been a perverted, good-for-nothing, but even Issei Hyodo had enough decency in him to respect another person's privacy…..

As long as said privacy did not involve preventing him seeing a naked girls tits….their sweet naked Oppai…..

Shaking his head slightly when he saw Konkeo narrow her eyes at him, Issei re-focused his gaze on the group bellow just as they crossed Koneko and Issei's established marker. Taking aim at the group's leader, the Chinese girl, Issei took several seconds to steady his aim before letting a small smirk cross his lips.

"Take this you fucking washboard!"

Letting his voice rise several octaves, Issei let the spears loose just as the young girl heard his battle-cry. Luckily, the weapon was already travelling far too quickly for the girl to even properly see, let alone dodge….and even more importantly, the weapon did not leave Issei's hands for no reason. After the first few moments of flight, the magical bindings holding the javelins together dispersed and the bundle dispersed into a hail of death that the Chinese-looking pawn didn't have a single hope in hell of dodging.

Within moments, her and the first of the cat-like twins were turned into devil pin-cushions as the javelins struck home. The other two watched in absolute horror as blood flew from their now defeated peerage members. The rook went to react, but she soon found herself absolutely crushed underneath several tones of gym equipment which then promptly exploded, courtesy of several runes that Koneko had placed there.

The second pawn, Li if Issei recalled correctly, had already turned tail and begun fleeing. She was about half-way across the basketball court before Issei grabbed a hold of a left-over javelin; taking a deep breath, the young pervert took aim before hurling it with the strength one would expect of the Red-Dragon-Emperor. Li was almost to the door that the scouting party had come in through, but before she could, her entire form was sent spiralling to the floor as the re-enforced piece of gym equipment ripped through her chest-cavity like wet tissue paper.

"HAHA!" Issei allowed himself a small fist-pump at the success of his throw, whilst Koneko let a tiny smile grace her features as the final member of the scouting party retired from the game.

{_**Riser Phenex's three Pawns and one Rook have retired.**_}

Turning to Koneko, Issei made a gesture with his head, and the duo dropped from the rafters before sprinting out of the back exit of the Sports Hall, just in time to see Akeno fly overhead with her bat-like wings at full stretch, whilst Rias herself broke off from her friend and went to set up the next stage of their ambush….all whilst pressing the transmit button on his headset.

"Prez, it's Issei. Sports-hall is clear, take out the Fried Chicken's queen when ready."

* * *

_(Undisclosed Location, Underworld) _

"By the Mao, are you sure that you got a _magician _to train Rias, Grayfia?" Joseph Gremory asked quietly as he watched his daughter's peerage absolutely annihilate half of Riser's peerage in one fell swoop. The methods they were using were extremely crude and almost never used on a battlefield, given the tendency Devils' had to simply turn Rating Games into power-slog fests; and as such, such 'underhanded' tactics would be absolutely scorned by most High-class devils.

However, for men like Joseph Gremory, such tactics were the marks of a _real _soldier.

Too many Devils were caught up in the human concept of 'honour' and 'chivalry', completely unaware of the fact that such things simply did _not _exist on a battlefield. On a battlefield, a _true _soldier would do anything and _everything _to win; from using the corpses of their friends as shields to beating their enemies to death with a rock. The majority of younger Devils were too infatuated with being grand and 'royal', and not _efficient._ And as much as he hated to admit it, his own daughter Rias was very much a part of that category.

Lack of ambition aside, Rias was too intent on protecting the Gremory name and her own personal honour than she was anything else. She didn't understand what it meant to actually _fight _an enemy, to command troops on a _real _battlefield. She treated her peerage too much like family and not at all like warriors and soldiers.

In part, Joseph had a hand in this. He, along with Sirzech, had pampered to her and encouraged a lot of the behaviour that was, (whilst not nasty), damaging. And as such, he had fully expected his daughter to merely march onto the battlefield with her honour-driven peerage and try to take Riser on face-to-face, her opening speech aside. He knew that such a plan would require a completely different mind-set to the one she had, and as such, Joseph had felt kind of bad for the young man who had put so much time into his daughter. After all, it was more than likely his effort was now going to be wasted.

But now he wasn't so sure.

Whoever this Pierr Dusitoir was, he wasn't _just _an extremely powerful and talented young magician. He was someone who had seen the fires of war and the hell of battle or was at least taught by someone who had seen it. His instructions and obvious training bore all the hallmarks of someone who was either ex-military or who had grown up in an extremely militaristic environment. In ten days he had turned his daughters peerage around; from a group of powerful no-hopers to an efficient fighting force that had a _very _real chance of beating Riser Phenex.

That wasn't something a magician could do.

That was something only a _soldier _could do.

And he was curious as to how the _hell _Grayfia managed to find him on such short notice.

Said woman stood there, her usual stoic face maintaining its composure as she easily replied to the current Lord Gremory.

"Yes, his control over lightening and fire is terrifying for one so young, as is his power. Why do you ask, Gremory-Samma?" She replied in her usual ice-cold, velvety monotone. Joseph turned to face the woman, putting the beat-down that his daughter and her queen were putting of Riser's queen out of his mind. The rest of the room quickly tore their gaze away from the match and watched as the current head of the Gremory family met Grayfia's gaze before continuing.

"Because I'm pretty sure you got a _soldier _to train them."

'_There.'_ Joseph thought to himself as Grayfia's eyes widened almost imperceptibly, drawing a small smirk from the man and confused looks from everyone bar Sirzech who also had a tiny look of shock gracing his handsome features. However, it was a testament to her emotional control that the 'Silver-haired Queen of Annihilation' did not let anything else slip, and she quickly re-established her neutral mask as she shook her head in the negative, but the look in her eyes clearly communicated what she really wanted to say.

'_There's more to this, but we will talk later.' _

Absently noting that Sirzech had sent a similar look to his mother and his fellow Satan, Joseph turned his attention back to the screen at the front of the room just in time to catch the beginning of the end….

And what a finale it was going to be.

* * *

(With Rias Gremory, Rating Game battlefield, Outside New-school building.)

"_Prez, we've dealt with the last group, heading to you now." _

Yumi's sensual voice crackled to life in Rias' ear as she watched the final body of blue magical particles disperse into the sky, earning a small smirk from Rias.

Rias watched with a growing smile as the rest of her peerage ran over to join her, Asia and Akeno just outside the New-school building. They had just finished off the rest of Riser's peerage, with his little sister and Bishop, Ravel, retiring after Yumi had threatened to coat her sword in holy-water and cut her face.

All of them looked a little ragged, with Koneko and Issei looking slightly worse for wear than Kiba. Issei's blazer was gone whilst the bottom half of his right trouser leg was missing, with several cuts on his person bleeding lightly. Koneko fared little better, although fortunately her modesty was still protected by her shirt. Yumi had several slashes in her top that revealed the lacy black bra she was wearing in order to contain her bountiful chest, whilst a single cut on her cheek provided the only source of bleeding on the gorgeous knight.

Motioning to Asia with her head, the young girl immediately raced forwards and healed Kiba's wound with a swift application of Twilight healing, before settling in front of Koneko, causing a faint green aura to envelop the stoic first-year as her wounds and some of her energy was slowly replaced by the ex-nun. Casting her gaze towards the school building, Rias let her sense flow a little just to make sure that Riser hadn't given them the slip and was hiding elsewhere. Luckily, it seemed that the 'Fried-Chicken-bastard' was still as arrogant as ever, and was casually lounging around on the roof-top, awaiting the arrival of her peerage.

'Well that's not happening. If he wants to fight us, he'll do it on _our _terms.'

She could already imagine the pundits and the commentators having a fit at her peerages display. They had fought the battle with such brutal and simplistic efficiency that the majority of the Devil population was probably calling her a 'cheater', 'dishonourable' or 'cowardly'. Ten days ago, such thoughts would have sent Rias over the edge, but now they served as little more than an annoyance. They still irked her, but ultimately, whenever she found herself questioning her decisions, she always allowed her thoughts to flow back to those spoken by a certain French ex-patriot and a lecherous pawn.

"_Don't worry Prez. I'm not fighting for Rias Gremory, heiress to the Gremory family. I'm fighting for Rias Gremory, the girl who gave me back my life and whom I will protect with my life. So don't worry so much, because we're going to win!" _

"_Gremory. I have a single question for you; do you want to win? If not, ignore what I'm about to say. If you do, then listen well. If you want to win this fight, you need to ignore EVERYTHING you think you know about fighting. Because it will not help you. The only way to beat Riser is to fighter smarter and more effectively, no matter how brutal or simplistic that may be. So if you want your freedom, cast aside your pride and do what you must. For that, in the end, is all that matters." _

The second set of words had been spoken by Pierr. There was no tone to them, no emotion or conviction; but they still managed to capture Rias' mind. He had spoken them during her first strategy session when he had initially outlined his plan to her. Naturally, she had been adamant that she would not fight so _dishonourably_, but after Pierr had finished speaking and she had gone away and thought about them over the course of the following day's training, she'd realised how true they were. Rias wanted to be free…. And as such, she had dug deep and found the resolve to fight like Pierr taught her.

She wanted her freedom, the right to _choose _who to spend the rest of her life with.

And as such, she drew strength from Issei's words.

Every time she thought about what he had said, Rias couldn't help but let her heart flutter a little bit. Those were the words she had so desperately longer to hear in her life; that someone was fighting for _her, _and not _what _she was. It touched her deeply that her cute little servant was willing to fight too hard for her, and now, whenever she looked at Issei, she couldn't help but let her heart race a little…

'Maybe….no. Focus Rias, we haven't won this thing yet. So keep the focus and get on with it.'

Motioning to Akeno, Rias watched as her best-friend and Queen raced to the side of the New-school building and placing her hand on it. After several moments, a series of runes spread across the surface of the building, making it look like some Language scholar had gone crazy and plastered the runes onto the building. Breaking into a sprint, the buxom ravenett reached her master again before allowing a decent sized pulse of demonic energy to escape her body.

**BOOOOOOOOOOOM! **

"Oh my!" Akeno stated airily whilst hiding her mouth behind the long sleeve of her shrine-maiden's outfit, causing Rias to laugh before coughing slightly as she inhaled some of the smoke and dust from her Queen's attack. The rest of her peerage has already finished up and was already spreading around the place, readying to enact the final stages of their plan.

Waiting patiently, Rias stood as still as a statue as she waited for Riser to emerge from the smoke, which he eventually did….in his usually over-dramatic style.

With a huge burst of demonic energy that manifested itself in the form of a pillar of flames that reached the sky, Riser stepped forth from his rebirth with little more than his red suit trousers and shoes cladding his body. His normally handsome face was twisted into a rather ugly snarl and his back played host to a pair of fiery wings that made the young man look like his terrifying and powerful name-sake.

"HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO ME! DO YOU HAVE NO HONOUR?" He roared in absolute outrage, earning a coy smirk from Rias. Traditionally, if the King was the only piece left on one side, it was custom for the opposing force to engage him or her in a territory of their choosing….however, as Riser had clearly failed to notice over the past few hours, Rias Gremory was not playing by tradition.

She was playing to win.

"My, whatever do you mean Riser? What have I done that is so dishonourable?" She replied cheekily, causing the young Phenex's anger to increase ten-fold whilst his power-output continued to climb rapidly.

"You have done nothing but hidden and attacked my servants when they've least expected it! You have ganged up on my Queen and shamelessly and cowardly attacked my other pieces! AND TO TOP IT ALL OFF, YOU REFUSE ME MY RIGHT TO CHOOSE OUR PLACE OF BATTLE!"

Rias cocked her head to the side and recited the words that Pierr had given her in order to kick-start the final stage of the battle.

"But Riser, this is a battlefield. And there are no rules here. So would you just get off your high-horse already and admit defeat before we have to crush you?" Rias replied calmly, causing the young Phenex to twitch ever so slightly due to how much anger was now pent up inside of him…..

And eventually it simply boiled over.

With an animalistic roar, Riser summoned forth a gargantuan wave of flames that would easily engulf herself and Akeno ten times over. Watching as the flames raced towards her, Rias waited until the last possible seconds before concentrating her power into a small dome that protected her and Akeno. Despite this, Rias could _still _feel some of the heat as the flames washed across her shield like the sea's waves over the rocks of a beach. After several more seconds, the temperature dropped back down, and as such Rias dispersed her temporary shield before turning her attention to Riser.

Said son of the Phenex family was currently flying back from a punch from Koneko, which eventually resulted in his impacting with one of the few pieces remaining of the New-school buildings' walls. Crashing through it in a hail of brick dust and mortar, the youngest son of the mighty Phenex household let out another animalistic roar as he jumped back to his feet, with his intentions clearly set on turning Koneko into ash.

However, before he could even summon his powers, Riser found his cheek cracking under a heavy blow from Issei's gauntleted fist, who then broke of into a wild sprint behind some nearby debris. The man went to try and catch Issei, but before he could, he found the tendons on the back of his legs severed as Yumi raced past him; ponytail fluttering in the breeze and a smirk gracing her features.

**[BOOST!] **

Hearing the cry of the Boosted Gear, Riser snapped his attention back to Issei as flames coated his body and repaired the damage done to him. But again, before he could even contemplate attacking the young man, Riser found himself sandwiched between a wall of the Bael clans power and a veritable battlement of lightning. Using his wings, the youngest son of Alexander and Layla Phenex raced into the air like some sort of fiery bird out of hell (which wasn't actually too far from the truth). However, before he re-aquire his targets, he was greeted once again by a stoic Koneko, who's leg was raised for an axe-kick.

"Down you go…..time to be cooked."

And with that, the loli smashed her foot into the older devil's head, sending him back down to Earth….

And back in-between the attacks of Rias and Akeno.

"OH SHI…."

**BOOOOOOOOOOM! **

**[BOOST!] **

Rias watched with a huge amount of satisfaction as Riser was once again forced to expend a rather large portion of his demonic energy in healing his wounds with another gargantuan pillar of fire. Each and every time he did so, he grew closer and closer to becoming weak enough for the Occult Research club to finish the fight with their secret weapon….

But they still had some work to do.

"ENOUGH!"

Shaking her head, Rias was barely able to throw herself out of the way of a rage-fuelled, fiery fist aimed for her head. Riser ground to a stop next to her prone form, but just as he prepared to unleash a destructive bout of pyrotechnic power, Rias unleashed a large, uncontrolled wave of Destruction at her foe, causing his eyes to widen in surprise before the entirety of his upper body was annihilated and rendered into nothingness.

Summoning her wings, Rias just managed to get herself airborne in order to avoid yet another pillar of Phenex fire as Riser emerged yet again, his eyes literally flaming orbs due to his rage.

With a bestial roar, he set off after Rias in another attempt to hit her. But just as he was about to get airborne, Koneko grabbed a hold of his legs and threw him back into the ground. The loli was just about to reposition, but before she could, a wall of white-hot flames raced towards her to quickly for her to dodge.

**BOOM! **

Rias felt her breath hitch as she waited for Sona to announce the dreadful and damaging news…..but to her eternal surprise, Rias found herself letting out a cheer of joy as Yumi appeared next to Asia with a somewhat roughed up Koneko in her arms.

"Sorry I couldn't get you sooner and stop any damage, but I had to move Issei." The buxom blond stated with an apologetic smile, earning a small nod of acceptance from Koneko as Yumi set the Rook down on her feet.

Satisfied that her peerage was safe, Rias was about to unleash another attack, but before she could, she found herself screaming out in pain as her left abdomen exploded into agony, causing her to lose focus on her wings and crash to the ground.

Looking to her side, Rias let out a moan of agony as she caught sight of the gaping wound in her side that was currently pouring with blood like a faucet.

'Shit, shit, shit! We can't lose it now, not like this! Not when we're so close!' Rias thought to herself through the sea of agony clouding her mind. Eventually, after what seemed like an eternity, Rias became aware of the green glow that had enveloped her wound, which even now was starting to stitch back together. Catching sight of a fully focused Asia and a livid Yumi, Rias was just able to turn her head in time to watch as Riser was enveloped by another of Akeno's lightning storms.

Said girl was literally bristling with electrical energy, her gorgeous face set in a furious expression and her eyes alive with absolute hatred for Riser as she continued to hammer him with ferocious lightning attacks as he attempted to heal his injuries. Eventually, the 'Priestess of thunder' was forced to stop her light show due to a lack of demonic energy that caused her to collapse.

And despite her perilous position, one could tell that her attacks had not been in vain.

Riser was now breathing heavily as he emerged from his pillar of fire in little more than a pair of boxers. His body was still marred with blood, and if one were to look closely enough, they would see that several of his smaller, superficial wounds, had not closed.

Which meant that he was weakening.

Turning his furious gaze to Akeno's prone form, Riser was about to unleash an attack, but a tag-team by both Yumi and Koneko forced him to abandon his attack in favour of dealing with Rias' two pieces that were currently 'in-play'.

Koneko would either dart in and push Riser away or stop him from unleashing any sort of magical attacks, whilst Yumi would use her ice-sword to prevent any flame-enhanced fists from hitting the two of them and also lash out and damage the prized son of the Phenex household as and when she could.

However, it was clear to Rias that the two of them were on their last legs. The pair of them had been fighting almost non-stop the entire time, and as such they were both virtually running on fumes by this point.

Even Riser was in better shape than the two of them, and as such it came as no surprise to Rias when Koneko was sent flying away with a back-fist and Kiba had her leg broken by a vicious kick to the right thigh, causing the gorgeous blond to collapse at Riser's feet before receiving a kick to the ribs that sent her skidding across the floor. Both Yumi and Koneko were both conscious and theoretically able to continue, but both Rias and Riser knew that it wouldn't matter in the long run…

'Come on Issei, come on…..'

"I'll give you credit Rias, you've pushed me further than any other enemy I have had to face. Despite you dishonourable start, you have finished well enough to warrant me keeping you as my wife. Who knows? Maybe I'll even let you compete if you can produce such performances consistently." Riser stated arrogantly between breaths, his usual cocky smirk back in place as he powered up one final attack; a gargantuan wave of flames that rose behind him like a tsunami of unholy fire…..

"Unfortunately for you though, I still have to _discipline _you for all of….."

"OI! FRIED CHICKEN!"

Snapping his head around, Rias watched with absolute glee as Issei stood little more than two foot behind Riser. Said devil turned around lazily and glanced at Issei like he wasn't even worth the time or effort.

"What do you want, low-class filth? Can't you see I'm busy?" He growled out, but that annoyed look soon became confused as Issei produced a small vial of clear liquid from his left trouser pocket and proceeded to speak.

"Do you know what puts out a fire?"

Uncorking the bottle, Issei placed it in his gauntleted left hand before answering his own question…..

"Water."

_**[TRANSFER!] **_

The moment the green-glowing water hit Riser, the youngest son of the Phenex family unleashed a howl of pain that caused even Rias to wince slightly…which occurred even more when she caught sight of his face.

Gone was the smooth aristocratic skin that Rias had come accustomed to loathing, and in its place was the muscle and sinew that allowed the bastard to pull his facial expressions. The muscle was red and raw, with blood seeping from everywhere as he clawed at his skinless face and neck. The wall of fire behind Riser dropped and dispersed as he desperately attempted to initiate a burning (the Phenex name for their regeneration).

However, this time it wasn't working.

Which wasn't all that surprising to Rias.

After all, Holy water damages a Devil at the best at times and restricts their powers; but when it was given and extra boost by Issei's Sacred Gear?

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

It was more like acid that completely nullified the use of any and all demonic powers.

Riser continued to claw at his face even as Issei lined him up for a punch whilst he spoke.

"I may not be the smartest or the strongest member of Bucho's peerage; seeing as I don't have Akeno-san's amazing control over lightning, Yumi-san's skill with a blade, Koneko-chan's strength or Asia-chan's sacred gear.

But I do have one thing that they don't.

An unbeatable cause!

'Cause I fight for my President, Rias Gremory and nobody else. And even if I had to fight God himself to keep her safe….

I'D TEAR APART HEAVEN TO KEEP HER HAPPY YOU FUCKING BASTARDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!" Issei had begun his charge mid-speech, and was within striking distance of Riser just as he finished his speech. The moment after, he unleashed his gaunleted fist into Riser's stomach, causing his entire abdomen to explode into a shower of blood that burst forth from his back.

Ever so slowly, the Phenex began to fall off of Issei's fist, slowly turning into blue magical particles as he went, with his body dispersing completely just before hitting the floor.

An eerie silence settled over the battlefield for what seemed like an eternity, until a slightly shaky and disbelieving voice spoke up over the annoucement system, as if they could also scarcely believe what had just happened in front of their very eyes.

**{**_**R ….. Riser Phenex of….of the Noble house of Phenex has been defeated by way of combat and has been deemed unable to continue fighting on medical grounds. **_

_**Therefore…**_

_**The winner is Rias Gremory!}**_

* * *

_**A/N: **_

_**Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd cut! **_

_**Okay, with this chapter we have basically finished the Phenex vs Gremory arc of DxD. The next chapter will essentially be tying up the fallout from this chapter; as well as setting up the next stage of the story, which we will talk about a bit more later on in these A/N. **_

_**So you've finally gotten not only a nice bit of violence, but also what was not only an original Rating game, but also an entertaining one! I'd like extra-special feed-back for this, as I put a decent bit of thought into this and it took me forever to write, so please leave a review with your thoughts! **_

_**Any ways, moving on. You guys finally got to see a little bit of Thierry's past. Obviously nobody knows the truth about it all, except for Thierry and Azazel, but hopefully the information as to his true native country (which I created in order to avoid offending anyone) will whet your appetite for a while. Oh, and before any of you ask 'Why would Thierry let his past be known?'; I refer you to my earlier statement. **_

_**It's easier to lie when there's some truth in the lie. And besides, all that Grayfia and Sirzech know is that he grew up in Zencasia, nothing more. After all, we can't have our Heroes' secrets being given away so soon now, can we. **_

_***Calming breath.* Okay, now to have a quick talk about the next major section of the story…**_

_**Which will be a dual arc! **_

_**Crazy I know, but let me tell you this; my original arc and the Excalibur arc are literally going to blow your mind. Canon is going to be saying bye-bye for a while as we get to see Thierry truly let rip in a race against the clock whilst Issei and the gang fight a losing battle against a mad-man looking to restart the great war!**_

_**In fact, there's a sneak-peak of it below (as I am about a chapter and a bit ahead of you guys and further than that in my planning, so that if I'm ill I can at least post something)…so do have a look. **_

_**Any ways, enough outta me for now. Just drop me a review to tell me what I did well and what I did not so well, and if you want to keep up to date with 'The Jackal of the Grigori' then drop a fave or a follow (or maybe even both). **_

_**But for now, **_

_**Keep it real like a Ninja. **_

_**Peace, **_

_**MetalGearMantis. **_

* * *

_**(EXCLUSIVE SNEAK-PEEK OF THE 'ACID AIR' AND 'EXCALIBUR' DUAL ARC) **_

The entire complex surrounding Thierry had turned into a fire-storm. Steel sheets fell from above like gigantic hailstones whilst molten iron and copper dripped from the pipes surrounding 'The Jackal' and his opponent like raindrops. The entire complex was coming down around their heads and yet Thierry could still not get his opponent to yield.

"_GET OUT OF MY WAY KUROKA! IF YOU DON'T NOT ONLY ARE WE GOING TO DIE BUT THE WHOLE OF KYOTO WITH US!" _He screamed over the roar of the white hot flames that were creeping ever closer to the two combatants, who despite the tremors of explosions still managed to keep their focus fixed on only their enemy. His tone was neither pleading or aggressive, it was as cold as ice itself, logical to the core; it was only said loudly so that his opponent could hear him.

Kuroka's normally playful smile was gone, and in its place an impassive mask that would rival Thierry's own. The 'Black-cat' was set in her standard guard and her amber-yellow eyes fixed solely on him. Her right eye was beaten shut and her body sported a myriad of cuts and bruises, whilst Thierry fared little better. His goggles were smashed and his nose was absolutely shattered underneath his mask, whilst his right arm burned from the deep laceration that he had been forced to cauterise earlier thanks to Lucretzia.

"I DON'T CARE! I HAVE TO DO THIS, TO KEEP ME AND MY LITTLE SHIRONE SAFE!" She responded resolutely, earning a snarl of frustration from Thierry.

"THIS WHOLE PLACE IS COMING DOWN! WE'VE GOT FIVE MINUTES TOPS BEFORE WE'RE TOAST AND 15 UNTIL KYOTO CHOKES UNDER AA-35." He yelled as he brought his left hand to rest on his Katana handle, his mightiest weapon under these circumstances. Kuroka seemed to hesitate for several seconds before her face settled into an uncharacteristic snarl as she setteled into an offensive stance.

"_**THEN YOU BETTER DANCE QUICKLY JACKAL!" **_

And with that….

The two began their dance of death anew.


	6. Chapter 6

**Authors Notes = A/N**

"Normal Speech."

'_Thoughts." _

"_Foreign Language." _

"_**Sacred Gears/Weapon spirits speech." **_

'_**Sacred Gear/ Weapon spirits thoughts." **_

* * *

**A/N: And here we have chapter six ladies and gentlemen.**

**First off, I'd like to just say that I am dedicating this chapter to my Grandmother who passed away the Sunday just gone. She was an amazing woman who had been battling with Dementia for a while, as well as crippling Arthritis. She remains one of the few people on this Earth I have ever fully respected, and one of three people I have ever envied. **

**So this one is for you Gran. I know it's not much, but hopefully when I do your Eulogy I can give you something far more fitting. **

**Now, personal stuff dealt with, can I just say that I'm really grateful for the response to the last chapter. I'm so glad that many of you loved the rating game, and that even more of you loved the Sneak Peek of the upcoming Dual Arc; but before we get to that, we need to deal with this. **

**Okay, so nothing too interesting to note with this filler chapter; it's mostly a chance for you guys to see some more character development and general tying up of loose ends from the last arc. Fortunately this chapter is a little bit shorter than my previous ones (only eight or so thousand words of actual content), but it still covers some useful and important things, so stick around (if only for the NEXT Sneak Peek of my upcoming Dual-Arc)! **

**Any ways, enough rabbiting by me. **

**LET'S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD! **

**(Edit: Please note that I have changed Serafall to a Super-Class Devil for the purposes of this Fic. Why? Because I want to.)**

* * *

_Disclaimer: I would like to clearly state that I do not own (and more than likely never will) Highschool DxD or any other series mentioned in this story. The rights to said series belongs to their rightful owners. I merely own the intellectual property rights of my OC, Thierry Blanc. I do not, nor ever intend to, profit from the writing of this Fanfiction, and I am merely writing it for non-profit entertainment purposes only. _

* * *

_(Last time in: The Jackal of the Grigori.) _

"_I may not be the smartest or the strongest member of Bucho's peerage; seeing as I don't have Akeno-san's amazing control over lightning, Yumi-san's skill with a blade, Koneko-chan's strength or Asia-chan's sacred gear. _

_But I do have one thing that they don't. _

_An unbeatable cause! _

'_Cause I fight for my President, Rias Gremory and nobody else. And even if I had to fight God himself to keep her safe…._

_I'D TEAR APART HEAVEN TO KEEP HER HAPPY YOU FUCKING BASTARDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!" Issei had begun his charge mid-speech, and was within striking distance of Riser just as he finished his speech. The moment after, he unleashed his gaunleted fist into Riser's stomach, causing his entire abdomen to explode into a shower of blood that burst forth from his back. _

_Ever so slowly, the Phenex began to fall off of Issei's fist, slowly turning into blue magical particles as he went, with his body dispersing completely just before hitting the floor. _

_An eerie silence settled over the battlefield for what seemed like an eternity, until a slightly shaky and disbelieving voice spoke up over the announcement system, as if they could also scarcely believe what had just happened in front of their very eyes. _

_{R ….. Riser Phenex of….of the Noble house of Phenex has been defeated by way of combat and has been deemed unable to continue fighting on medical grounds. _

_Therefore…_

_The winner is Rias Gremory!}_

* * *

_**(Chapter Five: I hate Dinner – Jackets) **_

* * *

"Remind me again why I'm doing this again, old man?" Thierry asked with barely contained frustration as he slipped into a pure-white shirt that hugged his muscular and bulky frame perfectly. After accomplishing that, he set about pulling the midnight black dress-trouser of his Dinner Jacket up around his tree-trunk like legs before fastening them into place with an extremely expensive leather belt with a silver buckle. He let out another snarl of frustration as he not only was ignored by Azazel, but also failed to find the cufflinks he was sure that he had set on the side of his dresser. After several more moments of fruitless searching, Thierry began to feel his eyebrow twitching out of frustration, and he was several seconds away from vaporising his room with magic….

"Looking for these Th – UMPH!"

Spinning on his heels with his fist cocked back, Thierry unleashed and explosive punch into the Governor-General of the Fallen Angel's smirking face, which caused him to throw the small blue velvet box he had in his hands into the air as he was sent spiralling to the floor with a broken nose.

Deftly catching the small box, Thierry opened it to reveal two silver cufflinks that had been given to him by Shimhaziel as a Christmas present last year. Pulling them out of the box, Thierry just managed to finish putting them into position as Azazel pulled himself to his feet, holding a bloody nose. Glaring at his right-hand man with his violet orbs, Azazel was quick to voice his annoyance at the events that had just transpired.

"Wha' waz tha' for ya' bastard?" He asked in a nasaly tone, earning a deadpan glare from Thierry as he sat down to put on his shoes.

"For stealing my cufflinks you man-child." Thierry replied dryly, earning an affronted (or at least what Thierry assumed was supposed to be affronted) look from Azazel as he re-set the cartilage in his nose with a small 'crack'.

"I didn' steal nothin' ya little shit!"

"Right, because _**you **_were being _**helpful**_."

"Is tha' so 'ard to believe?"

….

….

…..

"Fuck you."

"Love you too boss, now fix your nose. I don't need Raynare being all pissy with me for punching you in your ugly mug." Thierry shot back, earning a small nod from Azazel who's hands were already glowing a faint white. After several seconds, Azazel removed his hands, revealing a damage-less face to the rest of the world once more. By this point, Thierry had just finished lacing up his shoes and was in the middle of putting on his suspenders when the Viceroy of the Fallen Angels decided to speak up again.

"So you worry about Raynare's opinion of you now, eh?" Azazel asked with a slight grin, which caused Thierry to almost let go of the first suspender and lose his progress. However, Thierry was unfortunate enough to have dealt with the Governor-General's behaviour on numerous occasions, and as such managed to limit his expression of annoyance to a small glare. But when it became evident that the ancient Fallen was not going to take silence for an answer, Thierry decided to answer him.

"Of course I do. Can't have my reputation as a respectable gentleman damaged by her saying I smashed you in your ugly mug." He shot back dryly, hoping to get Azazel to drop the topic before it got awkward. Unfortunately for the young Frenchman, Azazel had countless years of identifying and dismantling this technique, and as such he was hardly going to be fooled by Thierry's blatant attempt at dissuading the upcoming line of conversation.

Letting out a deep sigh as he saw Azazel sit down on his bed with a serious expression, Thierry finished putting on his suspenders before sitting down with Azazel on the bed as he allowed his mind to formulate an answer. He knew he _cared _for Raynare, but he wasn't entirely sure as to what that care amounted to. He'd never loved anyone or anything, he didn't _know _how to; it had been beaten out of him at a young age, and his late master had not been around long enough to help him rediscover his more human side.

And all of this information frightened Thierry.

He was used to being in total control of his emotions, of keeping a calm façade and acting the part he was given by Azazel. He was used to being in _total _control of his thoughts and emotions; but when it came to Raynare he didn't have anything close to 'control' over his thoughts.

Whenever he thought of Raynare, his heart would start to beat fast and any other thoughts would slowly begin to drift away. The mere mention of her name made any negative thoughts drift away and her company simply made Thierry feel content…

And _happy. _

"_I…..I don't really know what to say Azazel." _He finally supplied, earning a nod from said Fallen Angel.

"Tell me what you've been thinking about." He replied in a neutral tone, which slightly surprised Thierry. He would have expected the lecherous leader of the Grigori to be demanding he bed the buxom Fallen that was downstairs and throw caution to the wind; so to see him acting so serious and calm was a (not totally unpleasant) surprise.

"I…I guess I just feel happy when I'm with her. Just thinking about her makes any bad thoughts go away and causes my mind to fall at ease." Thierry finally whispered, eyes focused on the floor. When he didn't get an answer straight away, Thierry felt his heart clench slightly.

What if Azazel told him to stop pursuing this line of thought? If he told him…he told him…..

'_**You worthless little shit stains are the farthest thing from human! You are not even ab-humans, you are not even fit to be called the scum of the Earth! But when **__I'm __**done with you; you'll be worthy of at least being recognised as scum…..especially once we've gotten rid of those stupid little emotions you all seem so keen to keep.' **_

Thierry felt his breath hitch as the brutal words of his _homelands _Drill-Sargent rang through his mind. In Zencasia there were no such things as emotions or choices; you were the property of the state, and as such you served at the pleasure of 'the president'. And despite his best efforts, Thierry couldn't but help let those memories influence his thoughts.

'_What am I thinking? I'm a monster in human skin; I don't deserve the right to love anyone. The things I've done…that I've enjoyed doing, how could I even consider tainting Raynare. If I care for her at all I won't even go near he….' _

_*__**Smack!**__* _

Thierry felt his entire thought-process freeze up as his boss smacked him across the cheek whilst he glared at the young French-Zencasian. Turning his shocked gaze towards the Viceroy of the Grigori, the infamous Jackal could only manage to cock an eyebrow in confusion, which Azazel took as the sign to start actually speaking.

"Stop that right now Thierry." Azazel stated seriously, a small frown marring his handsome features. Thierry made to retort and tell him that nothing was wrong, but before he could, the Viceroy of the Grigori spoke back up.

"You feel like a monster in a man's skin, and that because you enjoyed some of the things you have done, it makes you unworthy of love." Azazel stated sombrely, earning the smallest of nods from Thierry as he took a deep, shuddering breath. Waiting for his surrogate son to compose himself, Azazel eventually spoke back up.

"That's bull-shit Thierry. You didn't choose to do those things; you wanted to keep your men and your friends safe. And you didn't choose to enjoy those things; you were _conditioned _to enjoy every second of it, which is no fault of your own.

You are _not _a bad man Thierry. I love you like a son, and I can't put up with all of this self-deprecating bull-shit any more. If you like Raynare that's _wonderful_, you _deserve _a brilliant woman or two in your life." Azazel stated to Thierry who had slowly began to lean on his latest father-figure's shoulder as his entire body began to shake with unuttered sobs.

"But….but….."

"Talk to her. Tell her about your life and see how she reacts; because if she feels the way I think she does about you, she won't care and would stick by you. Just like anybody who loves you wouldn't judge you and would stick by you." Azazel stated seriously.

Thierry sat there for a few moments before his eyes hardened and his face set into an unreadable mask.

"It's better for her if she keeps her distance, just like it is for everyone else." He replied in an absolutely dead tone as he stood up and pulled his jacket on before making his way to the door. Leaving Azazel to merely watch with a crestfallen look as the young man walked away from him.

'Dam it Thierry, you need to open up…'

'I just hope that Ray-chan and whoever else follows can give you the love you deserve.'

* * *

(_Downstairs, a few minutes later)_

Raynare let out a small sigh of boredom as she lazily leafed through a fashion magazine that she had Azazel buy her earlier that day. Normally the buxom young Fallen would revel at the chance to indulge in her guilty habit of picking out different outfits from the magazine that she had, but as things stood her mind was currently focusing on one thing and one thing only.

Thierry.

'_I hope he'll be okay going alone tonight, Lord knows he hates devils.' _The gorgeous girl thought to herself absently as she flipped the page of her magazine on in an effort to distract her from her thoughts, despite how futile that action was. Raynare cared _immensely _for Thierry, and as a consequence she did not like the thought of him sitting amongst the species that had caused him so much pain in his life, if Azazel's words were to believe.

Raynare didn't know the specifics, but from the little she had managed to piece together from the Viceroy of the Fallen Angels and Thierry himself, the Devils played an integral part in his joining of the Grigori. How and why still eluded her, but Raynare resigned herself to waiting for Thierry to talk about the whole affair; it was his past after all, and like she said, she was not going to push him for anything. If he wanted to talk then he would talk about it to her; and seeing as Raynare had an eternity to wait, she could afford a few weeks or even months of silence on the matter.

'_Just play it cool girl, he'll talk eventually. He promised us he would. And if there's one thing you know about Thierry, it's that he keeps his promises.'_

Shaking her head slightly to try and re-shift her focus back to her magazine, Raynare was about to delve into the main body of the 'Summer Collection' when an all too familiar voice broke through the peaceful silence that had enveloped the room.

"_Looking good Raynare, feeling comfortable?" _An all too familiar accented voice asked with a small amount of mirth, causing Raynare to snap her head towards the door. The moment she did, the buxom young Fallen Angel felt her cheeks heat up substantially and her heart beat a little quicker as she now took in the transformed Thierry.

The raven-black Dinner-Jacket that he wore fitted him to perfection, hugging his frame perfectly and doing his god-like body absolute justice. Everything, from the shoes he wore to the Dickie-bow around his neck just screamed 'classy'. Combine this with a clean-shaven face and hair that was jelled into a mini faux-hawk, and Thierry looked like some noble from one of the seventy-two pillars, not an assassin for the Grigori.

Raynare huddled down into her chair ever so slightly as she took in Thierry's appearance; compared to her own hot-pants and baggy shirt (which she'd stolen from Thierry quite some time ago), Raynare felt completely under-dressed and unworthy of being in the same room as him. However, before the Buxom young girl could let her thoughts wander any further, Thierry spoke up again.

"_I guess that you don't like the change if the silence is anything to go by." _He commented in a joking tone of voice, but given Raynare's previous state of mind, the gorgeous Fallen failed to notice his change of tone…

"NO, NO, NO, NO, NO! I THINK YOU LOOK AMAZING, IT'S JUST…" Raynare was yelling at the top of her voice, arms waving frantically in-front of her and a worried expression on her face as she tried to persuade her housemate that she approved of his outfit. But before Raynare could finish speaking, she found herself cut off by the boisterous laughter of Thierry….which Raynare couldn't help but notice suited him very well indeed.

'_He should do that more often.' _She thought to herself absently, just before returning her attention to the Frenchman; who now wore a large grin on his face.

"_Well thanks Raynare, I appreciate the comment. But in all seriousness, was something bothering you when I walked in?" _Thierry's tone started off light, but it quickly filled with concern; something that caused Raynare's heart to beat even faster than it already was. After several seconds, Raynare dropped her magazine and averted her eyes as she brought her left hand up to her right arm, rubbing it gently as she spoke.

"I….I guess I just feel underdressed. You look like some sort of prince and I look like common trash stood here in this." She commented in a voice that was barely above a whisper, gesturing to her distinctly casual attire. After several seconds of silence, Raynare expected Thierry to break down and laugh at her.

What she didn't expect was….

"_You idiot." _

Raynare let out a small gasp of surprise as she felt Thierry's powerful arms sweep her into a gentle hug, the likes of which he had never done before. Normally he reserved such actions for when the two of them had their _'heart-to-hearts'_; he had never done something like this before. So it was with a cutely confused expression that Raynare lifted her head off of the smooth and silky shirt he wore so that she could better focus on his smiling face as he spoke to her.

"_Raynare, I could wear the best clothes in the world and you'd still look better than me, even if you were wearing trackies and that shirt. Clothes can't help me when I'm stood next to someone so beautiful, especially when they are of your level." _He said softly, causing Raynare to let out a small gasp of shock at his words.

'_He thinks I'm beautiful?' _

Before she could say anything, Raynare felt her mind freeze as Thierry lent down and placed a light kiss on her cheek as he pulled away from her.

"Don't stay up, I'll be gone for a while." And with that he turned and left a thoroughly confused and shell-shocked Raynare in the living room. After a while, the young girls brain managed to process just what had happened to her.

'He kissed me.'

'He kissed me!'

'HE KISSED ME!'

"He kissed me." Raynare muttered to herself as her heart soared in absolute joy as those three words were played on repeat in her head.

She knew she liked Thierry in far more than a platonic way, but she was never sure as to how he felt about her. To Raynare, this looked like it meant that Thierry also _liked _her as more than just a friend; and that left Raynare with only one possible course of action.

"I've got to tell Kala! She's going to be so~ jealous!" She squealed to herself as she raced towards the phone in the corner of the room, her raven locks flowing like a river behind her as she made to call her best friend and tell her the news. However, before she could reach the phone, the voice of the third member of the house spoke up.

"So you like him, 'eh?" Azazel commented off-handedly with a shit-eating grin plastered on his face, house-phone in hand as he stood in-front of Raynare. Said Fallen's face went absolutely scarlet at his words as she skidded to a halt, but she nodded none-the-less. Immediately, Azazel's face dropped and set into an impassive mask. Raynare audibly gulped and backed up several steps, expecting the Viceroy to crush her hopes of a relationship with Thierry in one fell swoop…but what she got instead was just plain horrifying.

"THIERRY AND RAY-CHAN SITTING IN A TREE, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

Azazel began to sing the childish and timeless song in a babyish voice that wouldn't have been out-of-place with a ten year-old. His arms were wrapped around his body and he was swaying side-to-side with a content little smile on his face with his eyes closed as he continued with the song. At first Raynare was too stupefied to even think straight….but the moment that her cognitive thoughts returned.

"SHUT UP, ERO-BAKA!"

*SMACK*

"AGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

***SMASH***

Twitching as a pained groan made its way to her ears, along with the sound of a rolling pot, Raynare stood there with _the look _all angry women shared between them, her fist out-stretched and her right hand held out to catch the house-phone as it fell from the air, having been left there after Raynare sent the Viceroy of the Fallen Angels flying into the kitchen. Turning on her heels, Raynare went to head to her room (which was directly opposite Thierry's) whilst dialling her best-friends number….leaving a certain lecherous Governor-General to voice his thoughts out-loud to the world.

"WHAT IS IT WITH MY SUBORDINATES AND BREAKING MY FUCKING NOSE? GOD DAMN IT!"

…..

…

….

…..

"Huh. At least Shimhaziel isn't here."

*SLAM*

"AZAZEL, I'VE GOT SOME REPORTS FOR YOU TO READ HERE!"

….

…

…

"Oh fuck my life."

* * *

(With Thierry, outside the ballroom of the Gremory Estate, The Underworld)

Thierry took a calming breath as he was lead through the ornate hallways of the Gremory mansion house as one of the maid-servants guided him to the ball-room. Instead of the grandiose and completely unnecessary flamboyance that Thierry had seen during some of his contracts in the under-world, the Gremory mansion was far more tasteful in its expression of wealth.

Instead of diamond encrusted clocks or countless jewel-encrusted weapons or frames, the Gremory family instead opted for gorgeous paintings and suits of armour that were tastefully in-keeping with the Victorian structural design of the Mansion. Each was of the absolute highest quality one could expect to find, but they were not tacky in any way what-so-ever.

'_Probably got some human they reincarnated to design the place.' _He thought to himself bitterly, doing anything and everything in his mind to either insult or discredit anything that the devils had done. It was bad enough that he had to attend this stupid function and spend several _hours _of his _own time _dealing with the scumbags, without being paid. And as a consequence, Thierry felt it only fair that he at least be allowed to rant mentally, if only to ensure that he didn't snap and try to kill anyone over the course of his stay in the god-forsaken hell-hole.

"Mr Dusitoir, we have arrived." The maid stated calmly in a distinctly English accent, causing Thierry to snap out of his bitter musings in order to take stock of his location.

The doors to the ball-room were much like the rest of the Mansion's decoration; classy and expensive without being tacky. They were exceptionally heavy oak doors that had obviously been crafted by hand by a master-craftsman. The doors told the tale of several great battles from either the Great War or the Civil War, with pride of place going to the golden emblazed image at the centre; the four current Satan's facing down the decedents of the original four great Devil Kings of the Underworld. Each of the images lacked any kind of face or overt detail, yet the palpable tension between the two groups was absolutely unmistakable; the fate of an entire race was to be decided by this battle, and by god did that tension shine through with this piece.

"Magnificent, isn't it?" The maid commented off-handedly, earning a small nod from 'Pierr'.

"_Indeed, I have only seen a few things that could honestly rival or surpass such artistry_." He replied truthfully. Indeed, the only pieces that he had seen that he could honestly say surpassed the doors to the Gremory ball room were either kept at the Grigori or were from memories that Azazel had shared with him from his time as one of God's Arch-Angels. The maid nodded her head with a small smile on her face, clearly pleased that her employers' had managed to wow another guest. Turning fully to face the young man, she bowed ever so slightly before she continued speaking.

"Please excuse me, I need to informer the announcer of your arrival."

And with that the maid turned and went through a small side-door that Thierry had failed to notice, leaving the young French-Zencasian by himself to collect his thoughts and mentally prepare himself for what was to come.

'_Keep it calm and collected Thierry; there are far too many devils for you to contemplate picking a fight today.'_ He told himself calmly as he raised onto the tips of his toes before relaxing back onto his heels and repeating the motion.

'_But just think of how many heirs and heiresses will be here tonight! We could kill them all and go down in a blaze of glory, crippling the future of so many devils.'_ Another part of Thierry's mind argued, causing the young assassin to frown in annoyance.

'_What good would that do?' _

'_We'd get to kill so many shitty devils, what could __**be **__better?' _

'_Living to kill even more devils?' _Thierry thought to himself with a dark sense of satisfaction. However, the rebellious portion of his mind continued to scream bloody murder and demanded the deaths of as many devils as possible in the ball-room, but luckily for Thierry, his mind still listened whenever he repeated his most sacred and adhered to mantra.

'_It doesn't matter what I'd like to do. Azazel said not to harm a single person whilst I'm here, and no matter what I feel…_

_Order are Orders.' _

Shaking his head as the rebellious part of his mind yielded, Thierry managed to return to the world of the conscious just in time to see the magnificent doors of the ball-room open. After an age of silent movement, the doors were fully open and revealed the ball-room to Thierry in all its glory. A high ceiling that was covered in famous images of prominent members of the Gremory family, the walls were over-hung by a second-floor walkway that overlooked and traversed the entire room, whilst Greek-style columns held it aloft. The floor was made of marble slabs and the room was full of tables and large open spaces…

Which were full of devils.

Thierry felt his breath catch slightly at the sight of so many Devils, but he managed to curb his natural instincts and instead began to make his way into the room, whilst every single set of eyes stayed on him. The moment his foot landed on the cold marble of the room, a loud booming voice echoed throughout the room, breaking the oppressive silence that had quickly developed.

"MY LORDS AND LADIES, PLEASE WELCOME THE GUEST OF HONOUR FOR THIS EVENING, MR PIERR DUSITOIR!"

'GUEST OF HONOUR?!' Thierry thought to himself in absolute shock as he replayed the words of the announcer in his mind…...and said mind could only reach one conclusion.

'GREMORY! THAT LITTLE BITCH! SHE DID THIS ON PERPOSE!' He roared to himself mentally, but luckily he managed to get control of his emotions quickly enough to stop himself from being embarrassed by the ending of the applause, and the arrival of a new voice.

"Ah, Dusitoir-san! Please make your way over here, there are several people I must introduce you to!" The perpetually annoying voice of Rias Gremory called out to Thierry, causing said young man to bite back a snarl of frustration. He was half tempted to simply turn around and march himself straight out of this little slice of his own personal Hell (no pun intended) and back to the comfort of his sofa, books and Whiskey. However, Azazel had told him that unless he stayed for at least three hours, he'd give away Thierry's booze and books, whilst claiming the sofa for himself.

So it was with a resigned sigh that Thierry began to make his way to the Grembitch (as he had dubbed her), who was currently stood on the raised section of the floor, wearing a form fitting white dress that, had it been on another woman, Thierry would have said made her look as sexy as anything.

'_But alas, 'tis the garment of the red-head bimbo.' _He thought to himself with an amused, silent chuckle as the Devils parted like the Red-Sea for him. The moment he reached the steps leading up to the raised section of the floor, Thierry was greeted to the site of the Gremory heiress; arm hooked perfectly with a D.J-clad Issei Hyodo. To their right stood the youngest member of the red-haired girls peerage, Koneko, who was currently wearing a silver dress that reached her knees along with a pair of matching flats, whilst Asia stood off to the side in a simple black dress and shoes that suited the nun perfectly. Now, whilst the three girls were undeniably well dressed, it was the appearance of the next two females that truly caught Thierry's attention.

Akeno was wearing a black traditional dress-kimono that stopped just short of her knees. The material was obviously of the highest quality, and the gorgeous image of a trees branch in autumn that flowed around the dress in silver stitching seemed to shimmer and dance as if caught in a gentle autumn breeze, due to the light. Her hair was still tied up into its traditional pony-tail, but it was clear that she had paid extra-attention to her hair when she washed it, if the truly magnificent shine of it was any indication. Below her kimono, the young Fallen-Human-Devil hybrid wore far more contemporary, closed-toe high heels that added three or four inches to her height, bringing the top of her head to roughly the top of Thierry's mouth. She truly looked gorgeous in Thierry's opinion, far better than Gremory could ever hope to be….but even Akeno was eclipsed by the young woman stood next to her.

'_Woah. She looks beautiful.' _Was all Thierry could manage to think as he took in the form of Yumi Kiba.

The buxom Knight had allowed her luscious locks to flow down her back like a river of molten gold that complemented the navy dress that she wore perfectly. Said dress was similar to a cocktail dress, in that it had no shoulder-straps and exposed a generous (yet not slutty) amount of her bountiful chest. The dress hugged her figure whilst allowing full movement, cutting off roughly two inches above the knee. Her feet were clad in open-toed high-heels which revealed the navy nail-polish she had applied (which accompanied her fingernails). On her left wrist sat a gorgeous silver-plated watch whilst a simple yet elegant silver necklace that almost melted against her flawless skin sat around her neck. All in all, she looked more like some sort of Sex goddess than she did a Human-Devil Hybrid. The slight sway in her hips as she and Akeno moved to join their group caused Thierry to mentally groan at how sensual yet natural the movements were….. and if the smirk on her perfectly rouged lips was anything to go by, she knew she had his attention.

"Ara, ara Dusitoir-san; have my Knight and Queen already captured your heart?" Rias asked with a girlish giggle which snapped Thierry back to reality. Catching the sound of laughter all around him, Thierry instantly slipped into his persona of Pierr and allowed it to do the work of one-upping the Grembitch for him.

"_Ms. Gremory you should know by now that there is nothing there for them to capture. My libido on the other hand is __**very **__happy with what it's seeing right now." _He commented off-handedly, causing Rias to splutter in surprise at his rather honest reply, Issei to cheer at the apparent 'conversion' to perversity and everyone else to laugh at his inelegant reply. Koneko merely narrowed her eyes at Thierry for several seconds before shaking her head in what Thierry could only assume was disappointment; although he most certainly did NOT care.

Looking back to the two gorgeous girls that had left him stupefied for several seconds, Thierry could only smirk ever so slightly at the sight of both girls blushing healthily at his comments whilst shying away from his cool gaze ever so slightly; although the pleased smiles that they wore told Thierry that he had most certainly said the right thing. After several seconds of regaining their composure, the two buxom girls smiled slyly before advancing ever so slightly towards Thierry.

"Oh really, tell me Pierr-kun; just how could you possibly hope to….._convey _your happiness right now?" Akeno said in a voice that actually caused Thierry to shiver slightly at how seductive it was. And to make matters worse, Yumi was only too happy to follow up her fellow beauty's attempt at flustering the thus far unflappable French Ex-patriot.

"To be honest we feel the same way…perhaps we should show you." Yumi purred as she closed the distance between herself and Thierry. Said young man felt his trousers tighten ever so slightly as the two girls stood barely two feet away from him. However, even with their lustful aura's and sinfully gorgeous appearances, it was still going to take a lot more than mere _wordplay _to even come close to flustering the young Frenchman. So it was with well-earned and proven confidence that Thierry took a step towards the two buxom girls and grabbed one of their hands in either of his own before cocking his head ever so slightly to the main doors.

"_I'm pretty sure there's an empty bedroom about five minutes from here. And trust me when I tell you that if you want to keep our little bit of __**fun **__private, we'll need the space and sound-proofing that room will offer." _He whispered in a down-right husky voice, causing both girls to go scarlet at his words and their pupils to dilate whilst they tried to stutter out a response. Thierry could only smile and laugh at their reactions along with the group of people present; the laughter only dying down when the two girls managed to calm themselves down.

"Hmph. One day Pierr-kun, we'll beat you." Yumi stated determinedly, earning a nod from her fellow half-devil. Thierry could only grin lightly before letting out a small laugh.

"_That's what you've said for the past twenty four times I've beaten you." _

"Shut up."

"As amusing as this is," Rias interrupted the two with a massive smile on her lips, "But there are _other _people to meet." She finished somewhat calmly, gesturing to the group of people arranged in a rough semi-circle behind her. Thierry rolled his eyes before gesturing to Rias with the universal signature for "_go on then"_. Nodding politely, the young girl gestured to Red-haired male and brown-haired, carbon copy of Rias that stood at the far left of the group.

"These are my parents; Lord Joseph Gremory and Lady Venelana Gremory Nee Bael."

"_A pleasure to meet you, Lord Gremory, Milady." _He stated in the most formal tone he could muster before (reluctantly) shaking the man's hand and lightly dusting his lips across the Lady Gremory's knuckles.

'_I'm going to need to wash my lips after that.' _

"A pleasure to meet you, Dusitoir-san. We owe you a debt that can never truly be repaid." The current head of the Gremory family stated sincerely, earning an internal role of the eyes from Thierry as Venelana emulated her husband's words. Nodding his head slightly at their words, the young man was then (quite literally) dragged to the next person by Rias.

"Next are the Lord Alexander Phenex and Lady Layla Phenex; Riser's parents." Rias intoned formally. Thierry met the Lords vice-like-grip with his own and repeated the same process he had carried out for the Lady Gremory for the matriarch of the Phenex family.

"A pleasure to finally meet you young man; I've been thinking about hiring you to teach Riser a thing or two about how to _really _fight, because it's clear that you know how to." The Lord Phenex commented cheerfully, earning a small chuckle from Thierry as his (small) ego was stroked ever so slightly; but he still made sure to shoot down the Devil's hopes

"_Unfortunately I am booked out for the foreseeable future….and besides I'm not sure the whole training thing is really for me." _The Lord Phenex let out a small faux-sigh of sadness before nodding his head acceptingly.

"If you ever change your mind or become free-"

"_I will contact you, do not worry Lord Phenex." _

Allowing himself to be dragged along, Thierry let out a small sigh of exasperation as he was dragged over to a small cluster of people, the silver haired woman of said group being someone he was already acquainted with.

"_Lady Lucifuge, it's a __**pleasure **__to see you again, my favourite person in the whole wide-world." _Thierry stated cheekily as he dusted his lips lightly over her offered hand's knuckles, earning the smallest of smiles from the normally stoic 'Silver-Haired-Queen of Annihilation'.

"I should hope so after the amount of money I had to move, Dusitoir-san." She shot back in her traditional monotone, although there was a detectable undercurrent of sarcasm coming from the gorgeous Queen of Lucifer. Thierry made to continue their conversation, but he found his thoughts cut off by something slamming into his stomach with the force of a small missile and almost causing him to lose his balance. After regaining his footing, Thierry looked down towards his stomach, only to find the gorgeous Serafall Leviathan looking up at him with a beautiful smile and deep violet orbs that were as captivating as Raynare's (although Thierry would never admit that out-loud).

"Hiya Dus-kun. I'm Serafall Leviathan, but please call me Levia-tan or Sera!" She exclaimed childishly, earning the faintest of sweat-drops from Thierry.

'_I know Azazel said that Serafall liked to appear and act like a super-hot and short, child-minded, teenage girl, but I never thought it would be like __**this**__.' _He thought to himself in absolute shock. He'd heard the stories from Azazel, but not even Thierry thought the Devils could be stupid enough to allow someone so _childish _to be a Satan.

'_Come the fuck on! There is no way she could be any good at her fucking job if she behaves like this; and if she's the Satan for foreign affairs, I can understand why so many extradition orders are 'lost'. She looks like she can barely hold onto a thought for a second.' _Now whilst Thierry knew that this 'girl' was one of the two currently recorded 'Super Devils', he couldn't help but let his thoughts run wild for several moments, before he returned his attention to the dress-clad girl wrapped around his waist.

"_A…. pleasure to meet you Sera." _Was all he could manage. However, Thierry felt his entire body shiver as the girl sent him an absolutely murderous glare that fitted her following words, unlike her tone of voice.

"Oh, before I forget, _Dus-kun; _what's this I hear about you threatening my little So-tan not long ago?" Thierry struggled to think as the girls grip became uncomfortably tight around his waist. Thierry made to reply, but before he could, another voice managed to stop him from being sliced into two.

"Onee-samma, I have already told you that it was in the heat of the moment, and that I was as much at fault as Pierr-san." Sona said in her usual dry monotone as she appeared next to her sister, wearing a modest violet dress and heels that (although Thierry would refuse to admit) suited her perfectly. The pint-sized Satan made to say something, but before she could, Thierry decided to swallow his pride and save the situation from deteriorating faster.

"_Sona there is no need to apologize; I was in the wrong. I….I jumped to an incorrect conclusion and refused to listen to yours and Miss Gremory's words…and as such I….I would merely like to apologize for any affront I offered. I enjoy the friendship that we have, and I have no desire to see it destroyed any time soon." _Each word at the beginning caused Thierry to bubble with absolute rage beneath his cold and calm exterior; they were the ones doing the enslaving, not him. But as his mini-speech reached its conclusion, the young man couldn't help but feel a certain level of sincerity creeping into his words.

'_It's just because you like to talk to her; nothing more and nothing less.' _He told himself with a tone that was supposed to be absolute, but it sounded anything but that within his mind. But before his mind could wander any further from reality, he was snapped back to attention by Sona's reply.

"Dus…..Pierr-san. There's no need to apologise; We should have explained the situation calmly to you, in private and not left you in the dark on the matter. But non-the-less, I appreciate the apology; I was….. concerned that I was going to lose my intellectual rival." The final few words caused the young Sitiri heiress to look away, and if Thierry was not mistaken, he was pretty sure he caught sight of a _blush _on Sona's cheeks, no matter how faint it was. 'Pierr' went to answer her, but he found himself yet again cut off by another devil.

'_I fucking swear to God I'm going to kill someone.' _

"So you're Pierr Dusitoir, huh?" Sirzech Lucifer commented off-handedly as he ran his eyes over 'Pierr's' form. Said young man froze solid as he locked eyes with the reigning Lucifer and the second recorded Super-Devil. One Super-Devil he may have been able to escape from – but two would be a suicide mission. He was powerful – by god he was probably the single strongest human on the face of the Earth. Not even the top five exorcists in the Vatican would be able to match him if he went all out, with the exception of perhaps Dulio Gesualdo, but not even _he _was strong enough to take on two monsters like Serafall and Sirzech and live, let alone escape from them.

But he couldn't afford to let the apprehension show on any part of his body; if only for personal pride. So swallowing what little saliva was in his mouth in order to try and satiate his parched throat, Thierry forced a smile onto his face as he gripped the current Lucifer's hand with his own and bowed his head ever so slightly, doing everything within his power to avoid holding eye contact with him for any longer than necessary.

"_Indeed I am; it's a pleasure to meet you Lord Lucifer." _

"Mah~, no need to be so formal Dus-kun, call me Sirzech." He replied flippantly, causing Thierry to raise an eyebrow slightly at the informality of the man. Catching sight of Grayfia narrowing her eyes at her husband, Thierry forced a small laugh out of his dry lips.

"_Ahahaha, I could never do that Lord – ACK!" _

Thierry was in the middle of rebutting the Devil, but for the second time that evening, the young man felt someone wrap their arms around his ribcage and lift him into the air. Turning his gaze back to the current Lord Lucifer, Thierry couldn't help but let out a squawk of absolute horror at the smiling face of Sirzech Lucifer as he held Thierry in a hug. But before Thierry could even recover enough cognitive thought, he found himself back on his feet and able to breathe again…..and the sight he was greeted to was so outlandish that even the greatest weapon of the Grigori, the right hand of the Viceroy and the Strongest human alive was absolutely stupefied by it.

"AUGH! 'RAYFIA-CHAN! LE' GOAH' MA' CHEE-YOOOOOOWWWWWHHH!" Sirzech screamed girlishly as his normally stoic queen stood next to him with an annoyed look plastered on her gorgeous features as the thumb and index finger of her right hand refused to relinquish their grip on their victim.

"Sirzech-samma, you are a Satan and one of the leaders of our kind. Please act with the decorum and dignity that is expected of your station."

"BU' I-YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWW! 'KAY! 'KAY! I'LL 'OP. 'UST LE' GO OH MA CHEEK!" Sirzech yelled as his wife narrowed her eyes at him. After several seconds of her husband quivering and crying at 'Fia-chan's' cruelty, the Ultimate Queen seemed satisfied with her husband's response, and as such she released his cheek, causing a faint 'twang' sound as his comically stretched cheek pinged back into place. Rubbing his cheek gingerly, Thierry could only nod faintly to the blurred voices as they spoke to him, whilst a gentle hand guided him towards a set table, whilst his mind attempted to reboot from what he had just seen.

'_That's Sirzech Lucifer. THAT'S THE LUCIFER! WHAT THE FUCK! He's supposed to be the strongest living devil alongside Serafall Leviathan. I know that the Cadre back home said that he was like this, but I genuinely thought that they were fucking with me. How the __**hell **__can someone so important think it's okay to behave in such a manner? Azazel would never act so immaturely in an important setting, crass nature aside; at least __**he **__knows when to act like an adult.' _Thierry thought to himself as he found himself automatically sitting down into a chair and rolling his shoulders. He continued to ponder the stupefying nature of the leaders of the Underworld, praying to whatever deity would listen that Asmodeus and Beelzebub were no-where near as bad as their peers.

But knowing Thierry's luck, they were probably even _worse _than Thierry had been lead to believe.

Shaking his head lightly, Thierry managed to pull his head out of his thoughts just in time to catch the arrival of a waiter to his left.

"Excuse me, Mr Dusitoir. Can I get you anything to drink?" The brown-haired, plain looking devil asked politely, causing Thierry to descend into a brief period of thinking before a small smile lit up his face.

"_Tell me, do you do custom drinks?"_ He asked casually, earning a small nod from the young waiter and several curious glances from those around him, most notably Yumi to his left, Issei to his right and the heads of the Phenex and Gremory families across from him, as well as the two Satan and Sona.

Upon receiving a nod of confirmation, Thierry began to ask for his all-time favourite drink.

"_Alright, pay attention because this isn't the shortest list; three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?"_ He finished quickly, earning a raised eyebrow from the man and a hearty laugh from Sirzech as the waiter left to bring him his drink.

"A fan of Flemming's work are we?"

"_Indeed. I tend to favour Whiskies and Wines, but when you have such a large variety of free drinks, I may as well make use of it." _He replied cheekily, earning a healthy chuckle from the adults at the table, as well as Rias and her peerage, although Sona looked like she wanted to complain about his consumption of alcohol.

'_If I'm going to be here for as long as Azazel wants, I'm going to __**need **__that drink.' _

* * *

_(Two hours later, with Yumi) _

Yumi watched as Pierr shook hands with yet another noble, a polite smile plastered on his face as he bid them good-night. He looked every part the quintessential noble, yet there were hundreds of indications that he was not used to this kind of environment; that he wasn't used to dealing with up-stuck aristocrats and being the centre of attention. He had denied it earlier, but the buxom blond could see that he was not comfortable being in this kind of setting; which suited Yumi just fine considering her growing…._affection _for the French ex-patriot.

Although she'd had several boyfriends over her life, Yumi had never exactly felt anything for any of them; they were mostly for a bit of fun, or scratching certain _itches _when they needed to be dealt with. But one thing that Yumi did know was that she was genuinely starting to see a lot of the characteristics that she wanted in someone to call her partner.

He was strong, smart, witty and brilliant with a sword; and easy on the eyes to boot. At the moment, Yumi would probably say that she merely felt extreme sexual attraction for the young man, in the same way he seemed to feel it for both her and Akeno; and that thrilled her. Sure, she wasn't exactly one hundred percent happy that Akeno also seemed to be interested in the Frenchman, but she couldn't say that it bothered her completely either. After all, half the fun in snagging a man was in the competition and the chase.

It may sound basic and animalistic, but being a Devil tended to bring out ones more _predatory _nature, in all things. And it was made even more entertaining by the fact that she didn't actually know how Pierr felt towards her. Sure he would flirt with her and tease her, but like his facial expression or his words, it was virtually impossible to discern his motives or actual feelings. He could be flirtatious and downright sexy one minute and terrifying the next, or hard-working and studious at the start of the day and then finish it as a lazy vagabond. He was like a puzzle that constantly changed, so that when you felt like you had an answer to even a small part of just _who _Pierr Dusitoir was, he'd say or do something and you'd be back at square one again.

Which meant that any action Yumi was about to take was literally a shot in the dark, and as such she was feeling something that she hadn't felt in quite some time.

Nervousness.

She was nervous because she didn't want to ruin the tentative friendship that she had managed to form with Pierr, and as such she was nervous as to how her actions would impact their relationship….but then again…..

Nothing risked, nothing gained.

So it was with a steadying breath that Kiba laid her head upon Pierr's shoulder, causing the Frenchman to look down at her with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm in a bit of a pickle, Pierr-kun."

"_How so?"_ He replied casually, causing Kiba to smirk as she gently wrapped and arm around Thierry's broad shoulders. She had to bite back a small, shuddering gasp as she felt his own powerful arm wrap around her thin waist, pulling her closer to his body.

"Well, you see; I have a special someone I want to thank for helping me and some friend out recently, but I'm not sure as to how he would react to what I have in mind." She stated calmly as she slowly swung herself around so that she was in-front of the French ex-patriot, who had now pushed himself off of the wall and had snaked both of his arms around her waist, causing Kiba to smirk.

'_He may actually feel this way!' _

"_How did you want to thank this…..__**special **__someone?" _He asked with feigned innocence, causing Kiba's smirk to grow into a small yet gorgeous smile as she leant forwards until her lips were millimetres from the object of her desires.

"Like this."

The first thing that Yumi noticed about Pierr's lips were that they felt surprisingly smooth for a males, and if the surprised but almost blissful look in Pierr's eyes was anything to go by, he found her lips to be as velvety and moist as her other lovers had. Closing her eyes, Yumi couldn't help but gasp as Thierry's arms dropped to her waist and pulled her voluptuous form flush against his well-sculpted body. Said gasp was all it took for Pierr's own lips to part and his tongue to dart forwards and into Yumi's mouth.

Said girl immediately began fighting back against the intrusion, but like when they fought with blades, the gorgeous Knight of the Gremory found herself quickly out-skilled by her companion, and was quickly whimpering and moaning into the kiss as she felt Pierr's tongue caress her own. The two remained like that for a while; lost in absolute bliss. Eventually the two broke apart, with Yumi pulling back with her face a healthy red and her breath coming in ragged gasps.

"Well…that wasn't exactly how I meant for that to go….."

"_Still brilliant though, eh?" _Pierr commented cheekily, earning a small giggle from Yumi as she returned to her original position with her head on the Frenchman's powerfully built shoulders. Discreetly casting her eyes about the room, Yumi was happy to note that nobody seemed to have notice their rather _intimate _moment.

She was about to initiate another moment, but before she could, a faint ringing came from Pierr's jacket, causing the young man to sigh in exasperation and detach himself from Yumi (much to her chagrin). Unlocking the device, he pressed the answer button and raised the phone to his ear, unknowingly attracting the attention of the Gremory Group, the two Satan's and the Lords and Ladies of the Phenex and Gremory families.

"_What do you want Thomas?" _

_(….)_

"_What do you mean it's still in play?" _

_(….) _

"_Did you manage to intercept them?" _

_(….)_

"_Shit. Who did you manage to get?" _

_(…...) _

"_I see."_

_(….)_

"_I want you to keep that little piece of shit right where he is. I can be with you in about an hour. _

_And let me make this clear to you Muller. _

_If you fuck up in__** any **__way, I'll rip your fucking guts out and use them to strangle your wife whilst you watch you little bitch." _

Throughout the entire conversation, Pierr's demeanour had swiftly deteriorated, from annoyed to shocked and then angry, before finally settling on showing the young Frenchman as being completely apoplectic with rage. With several deep breaths, the young man managed to reign in his emotions enough to turn to Rias and her parents, who (like most of the assembled group) were shocked at his swift change in demeanour.

"_Excuse me Miss Gremory, but one of my __**acquaintances **__has picked up on something very important and I'm afraid I need to head out immediately." _Rias nodded shakily at his ice-cold voice, and before anyone could say anything, Pierr had clicked his fingers and was bathed in a small blast of dark blue magical energy. The moment said energy faded, it revealed a drastically changed Thierry, who was now clad in the same gear that he had worn when he had trained the Gremory Group for their match against Riser; with the only noteworthy difference being that his face was now covered in black camo-paint along with his neck, obscuring his handsome face from view.

Bowing his head to Sona, he quickly explained that he may be absent for the next few days of school, and asked for the girl to cover him. The heiress to the Sitiri family nodded calmly and wished him luck, which caused the young man to head for the nearest balcony so that he could privately use the reverse teleportation seal he had been given to return to the human world. But before he could leave, Yumi found herself calling after the mysterious and brilliant Frenchman.

"Pierr-kun!"

Turning around, the young man met Yumi's gorgeous grey orbs with his own shaded eyes. Taking a deep breath, Yumi forced a smile onto her face as she said only one thing to the young man.

"Please be careful."

Averting his gaze, the young man quickly spun on his heels and continued on his way, but not before whispering a reply back to Yumi so faintly that she almost thought she'd imagined his words.

"_I'm sorry….."_

"_But I can't make a promise I know I may not be able to keep." _

* * *

_**A/N: **_

_**And there we have it ladies and gents. **_

_**Okay, like I said at the top (which I'm sure nobody noticed), I KNOW Serafall isn't a Super-Class in canon, but I just don't think Ajuka fits the bill...and to be honest the prospect of someone so childish wielding so much power just amuses the shit out of me. So I changed it. If you don't like that, fine. **_

_**But that change is STAYING. **_

_**Now with that out of the way, I'm not too sure about how I feel in regards to this chapter. The death of my grandmother and school stress aside, I just feel like this chapter is kind of 'meh', but then again it is only my first interlude chapter, so I suppose I can't expect it to be fantastic. **_

_**Any ways, I have an important announcement to make; this chapter may well be the last one for a little while, seeing as Public examinations are coming up. But considering I finish way earlier than everyone else, I'll have a lot of free time to write, so you'll only be without me for a month or so at most. **_

_**And that's all I've got to say apart from drop a fave or a follow if you want to keep up with the story (or maybe both), and leave a review to tell me what you thought of the chapter or the preview for my original arc and the Excalibur arc. **_

_**Keep it real like a Ninja folks! **_

_**Peace, **_

_**MetalGearMantis **_

_**P.S: Oh and the pole on Rossweiss' addition to Thierry's harem is still up, so go vote mortals! VOTE! **_

* * *

_**(SNEAK PEEK OF THE 'ACID AIR' ARC) **_

"The remaining AA-35 is with Franzesca now, I swear Jackal-samma!" Screamed the now wingless Fallen Angel in Thierry's grip as he tried to keep his fearful violet orbs focused on the black-out visor of the most fearsome assassin in the world. His grip loosened ever so slightly as he kept his eyes locked onto the frightened Fallen in an attempt to pressure him into surrendering even more information.

"Where has she taken it?" He snarled out in a voice as cold as the embrace of Death itself, causing the wingless Fallen in his grip to let out a small whimper of fear at the cold edge of his tone. The man made to say something, but before he could so much as utter a syllable, Thierry loosened his grip on the man's jacket even further, causing him to sway in the cold, night-time Russian wind and let out a scream of abject fear as his only grip to life stretched to a few weary fingers.

"I suggest you consider your answer _**very **__carefully. Otherwise your friends will be picking bits of your skull up from the floor, because I guarantee there won't be a lot left of you to bury if you lie." _The Jackal snarled, causing the man to visibly shake in abject terror at his words. Eventually the pitiful excuse of a Fallen Angel managed to pull himself together enough to answer the young man.

"She took it to the port at Secratz! She said something about it being the quickest way into Japan, but that's all I know. If you want any other answers then you'll…..you'll need to get them from Franzesca-san."

Thierry kept his gaze locked on the pathetic man's eyes before nodding his head.

"I believe you."

So it was with a hopeful look in his eyes that the Fallen asked his next, life-determining question.

"Will you let me go now."

"Of course."

In the end, it was all Raynare could do as she watched Thierry walk away from the edge of the building…

Whilst her brethren screamed as his body neared the cold and unforgiving tarmac of the god-forsaken village they had battled in, some fifty metres below.


	7. Chapter 7

**Authors Notes = A/N**

"Normal Speech."

'_Thoughts." _

"_Foreign Language." _

{**_Sacred Gears/Weapon spirits speech.}_**

[**_Sacred Gear/ Weapon spirits thoughts. ]_**

* * *

_**A/N: **_

_**Okay, so not much for me to say with this chapter, other than I've written this as my last posting before I disappear until the 18**__**th**__** June. It's a long period of time I know, but my exams are the most important thing to me right now, so you'll have to forgive the fact that this was written during odd half-hours and what not, which is why it's slightly shorter than my average chapter. **_

_**But it still marks the beginning of my dual arc. **_

_**So read on.**_

_**And get ready for one hell of a ride. **_

_**(P.S: The chemicals I named in this Chapter are all fictitious. I just picked/created them because they sounded cool, so don't any chemists try and have a go about it!)**_

* * *

_(Last time in: The Jackal of the Grigori). _

"_What do you want Thomas?" _

_(….)_

"_What do you mean it's still in play?" _

_(….) _

"_Did you manage to intercept them?" _

_(….)_

"_Shit. Who did you manage to get?" _

_(…...) _

"_I see."_

_(….)_

"_I want you to keep that little piece of shit right where he is. I can be with you in about an hour. _

_And let me make this clear to you Muller. _

_If you fuck up in__** any **__way, I'll rip your fucking guts out and use them to strangle your wife whilst you watch you little bitch." _

_Throughout the entire conversation, Pierr's demeanour had swiftly deteriorated, from annoyed to shocked and then angry, before finally settling on showing the young Frenchman as being completely apoplectic with rage. With several deep breaths, the young man managed to reign in his emotions enough to turn to Rias and her parents, who (like most of the assembled group) were shocked at his swift change in demeanour. _

"_Excuse me Miss Gremory, but one of my __**acquaintances **__has picked up on something very important and I'm afraid I need to head out immediately." Rias nodded shakily at his ice-cold voice, and before anyone could say anything, Pierr had clicked his fingers and was bathed in a small blast of dark blue magical energy. The moment said energy faded, it revealed a drastically changed Thierry, who was now clad in the same gear that he had worn when he had trained the Gremory Group for their match against Riser; with the only noteworthy difference being that his face was now covered in black camo-paint along with his neck, obscuring his handsome face from view._

_Bowing his head to Sona, he quickly explained that he may be absent for the next few days of school, and asked for the girl to cover him. The heiress to the Sitiri family nodded calmly and wished him luck, which caused the young man to head for the nearest balcony so that he could privately use the reverse teleportation seal he had been given to return to the human world. But before he could leave, Yumi found herself calling after the mysterious and brilliant Frenchman. _

_"Pierr-kun!"_

_Turning around, the young man met Yumi's gorgeous grey orbs with his own shaded eyes. Taking a deep breath, Yumi forced a smile onto her face as she said only one thing to the young man. _

"_Please be careful." _

_Averting his gaze, the young man quickly spun on his heels and continued on his way, but not before whispering a reply back to Yumi so faintly that she almost thought she'd imagined his words. _

"_I'm sorry….."_

"_But I can't make a promise I know I may not be able to keep." _

* * *

_**WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS REFERENCES TO TORTURE &amp; MILD TORTURE SCENES**_

* * *

_**Chapter Six: Acid Air**_

* * *

_(Undisclosed Grigori Black-Ops Site, West Germany) _

Thierry let out a growl of frustration as the heart-monitor to his right flat-lined for the third time in several hours. Said machine looked as if it had seen better days, given the thick layer of grime and dirt that was plastered on its metal casing, whilst the screen was splattered with blood in several areas; some black and crusted, the rest as fresh as that which flowed in Thierry's veins. Turning his gaze from the disgusting piece of machinery, Thierry immediately set his eyes on the last, unused syringe on the table behind him.

Said syringe was filled with the Supernatural worlds equivalent of adrenaline on steroids;_ Alstarnine. _It was an incredibly rare (and stupidly expensive) synthetic compound that forcibly restarted a person's bodily and guaranteed life for at least another fifteen minutes, providing the target didn't suffer any further trauma. It was used in place of Adrenaline as was far more potent and effective, especially in members of the supernatural. This was not to say that said people did not have adrenaline, but rather the concentration that would be required is simply unfeasible for syringe use; hence the required use of _Alstarnine. _

Grabbing the syringe, Thierry ripped the sterile cover off of the needle and turned to face the figure that was slumped in a metal chair in the centre of the room. The man was completely stripped naked, revealing his fairly well toned body to the rooms only other occupant. His body was littered with cuts and bruises; his rib-cage in particular in several places was a horrific shade of either black or purple. His right arm had clearly been broken and then forcibly placed into an uncomfortable angle that would only serve to enhance the pain of the injury, whilst the odd angles of his legs clearly indicated that they too, along with his fingers and toes and been brutally broken earlier on. Long black hair shaded the man's face from view, but if the steady flow of blood dripping from the area was any indication, that also was not in the best of shape.

Stepping back to his 'guest', Thierry drove the syringe in his grip straight into the man's chest, exactly where his heart was. Pressing firmly down on the syringes top, Thierry emptied the medical tools entire load in less than two seconds; a remarkable achievement considering the viscous nature of the solution within. Stepping back, Thierry allowed his mind to wonder for the first time in hours as the supernatural drug began to restart the man's heart.

'_I bloody hate this part of the job.' _He thought to himself bitterly as the heart-monitor suddenly burst into life and the man took his first shuddering breath. After several years in the Zencasian military, Thierry had been transferred from his original unit to a detachment known only as _The Reapers. _Needless to say, the jobs that he had been forced to carry out as a member of the legendary Zencasian unit still haunted him to this day…. much like the brutal yet extremely efficient methods of torture he had used on his latest target.

'_Oh come off it, you __**know **__you enjoy it.' _A dark part of Thierry's mind voiced sadistically, causing the young man to tighten his hands into fists whilst his subject continued his recovery. He really wanted to outright deny what that part of his mind had told him; that he hated what he had done and he wished he could go and be sick. But the unfortunate truth was that it was absolutely _right. _

He wasn't proud of the fact; but he loved to cause pain to others, just like he loved to fight and kill his opponents as brutally as possible. It wasn't natural in any way, but it was the truth.

'_You seem to forget that we were conditioned to feel this way.' _

'_Yeah, but you've also done nothin' about it!' _

Thierry gritted his teeth in annoyance, and was about to continue his internal monologue, an all too familiar voice broke through into Thierry's mind. It was one that he knew all too well; a presence that he rarely felt, but welcomed openly whenever it appeared in his fractured and hellish mind.

'_**I would focus on your enemy for now, partner. He seems to finally be waking up.' **_

Shaking his head, Thierry went to speak to the voice, but before he could even contemplate asking as to the voices whereabouts for the past several months, a faint groaning caught his attention. So it was with a bitter growl of frustration that Thierry pulled his attention away from the voice and instead focused it on the now barely awake figure in the chair. Taking a quick calming breath, Thierry cleared his conscious of all curiosity and sank back into the cruel persona that had served him so well during his time as a member of Zencasia's elite.

"_Did you honestly think that this time you'd get lucky and die?" _He asked pleasantly, earning a whimper from his target. Keeping the calm and friendly persona up, Thierry reached for his belt and pulled out an extendable baton that Azazel had made for Thierry some time ago from his hip. With a well-practiced ease that he flipped the baton to its full length before smacking it into the knee of his target.

"AGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!"

The man screamed horrifically as his already broken leg was further damaged by Thierry's callous treatment. Said assassin merely grinned viciously and felt his heart beat slightly faster at the sight of his targets agony.

'_Keep control. We still need a name and country.' _

"Yaksly, this is only going to get harder for you. Just tell me what I want to know, and I'll at least make your death quick." Thierry supplied cheerily to the now identified Yaksly as he finally stopped screaming, earning a pained look from the tortured man. He sat there for a while, his breathing heavy as he kept his eyes fixed firmly on the floor, as if weighing up the offer that had been put on the table for him. Eventually, after what seemed like an age, Yaksly finally managed to find the strength to speak to his demented captor.

"Russia….they….they took the AA-35 to Russia." He murmured gently as a faint trail of blood leaked from the corner of his mouth. Thierry nodded sagely, before gesturing with his other arm for the broken Fallen Angel to keep on speaking. The man hesitated for a moment, but when he caught sight of Thierry reaching for the baton at his belt again, he divulged the last piece of information to the world's greatest assassin.

"Look... look for Surkov. Sergei Surkov. He's the one that we moved the shipment on to."

Thierry nodded again before summoning his Browning Hi-power pistol into his grip. He levelled the barrel of the gun with the pathetic form of Yaksly before thinking of one last question.

"AA-35, what does it stand for?"

"Antrolsylamine Anthalcynaide -35. I…I think the number has something to do with the previous number of attempts at creating the stuff….. but most of us just call it Acid Air." Yaksly responded, before Thierry nodded in satisfaction.

The walls seemed to shake ever so slightly as Thierry's weapon was discharged, sending a large cloud of red mist and brain-matter flying out of the back of Yaksly's head. Holstering his weapon with a sigh, Thierry turned on his heel and opened the door some five meters behind him. He was greeted by the sight of a young looking man, perhaps no older than five or six years older than himself. He was average looking and had medium-brown hair that fell to his shoulders and wore a decent looking suit that probably cost around the same as most of Thierry's bog-standard clothes.

Thomas Muller was Thierry's best contact in Germany. He was a German were-wolf who he had saved from a tight situation with some idiots from the church a few years ago. Ever since then, whenever the Grigori or Thierry had need of the man's services, he was only too happy to help them; especially when it directly benefited himself or his wife.

Stepping forward, the young German licked his lips before speaking.

"_So, I take it that he has been disposed of?" _He asked in his native tongue, earning a nod from Thierry who decided to courteously respond in the man's first language.

"_Yes. Take care of the body; I need to speak to Azazel about all of this." _

"_Why, is something bad about to happen?" _

Thierry paused as he reached the door that would lead him out into the mild German night, his eyes fixed to the floor as he responded to the words of his contact.

"_Beyond your imagining." _

* * *

_(Outside, with Thierry) _

"_Azazel we have got a serious problem." _Thierry stated as calmly as he possibly could into his mobile phone. His mind had only just finished processing that the very chemical weapon he had thought he'd destroyed in New York several months ago was still in existence. Obliviously the containers had been either far more magically reinforced than he had thought, or his explosion was not very powerful; and given the damage that the latter option had caused, Thierry had come to the former as the most logical conclusion.

Azazel let out a soft _'hmmmmm' _down the line before he replied in an unusually serious voice, indicating that he knew that now was not a time for jokes.

"**What is it Thierry? I'm in an important meeting right now." **

"_Do you remember the biological weapon you had me destroy in New York at the start of the year?" _

"_**Of course, I still can't figure the bloody thing out. What's your point?" **_

"_Some of it's still active." _

The silence that filled the line was absolutely deafening. Thierry couldn't even make out the Governor's breathing as he awaited the apoplectic reply that was sure to follow that piece of news. No leader took the failure of their subordinates well, especially when it came to such large and important missions, and given the way in which Azazel was yet to respond… well let's just say a few _uncomfortable _memories were flowing through Thierry's head as he awaited the response of his boss.

'_**What do you mean you failed?' **_

'_**It….it wasn't my fault sir! There were too many of them!' **_

'_**And that excuses your failure?' **_

'_**Well…..'**_

'_**In case you haven't noticed kid, we're at war. And in war there is **__no __**room for any sort of failure; especially amongst the common soldiers. Soldiers are supposed to complete their mission no matter the cost; it's what they're bred for…. And in Zencasia, we don't allow defective equipment to serve amongst the good stock.' **_

'_**No! Noooo! Please I wo-' **_

_**BANG! / "THIERRY!" **_

Thierry shook his head violently as the memory faded from his mind like a summer's breeze, and the concerned voice of the Viceroy brought the greatest living assassin out of his musings. Raising his mobile to his ear, Thierry licked his dry lips before responding in his usually quiet and flat voice.

"_What?" _

Azazel let out a sigh of frustration before responding to his greatest weapon's question.

"**Use the reverse summoning glyph I gave you. We need to discuss this in person; right now." **

Nodding slightly, Thierry moved his left hand over the front left trouser pocket that was there and released a miniscule pulse of magic. The moment he did, the trademark smoke that accompanied the removal of an item from a pocket dimension cleared, revealing the glyph that Azazel had given him for such occasions. Double checking his person, Thierry quickly made certain that all of his gear was either with him or locked up in a pocket dimension before pouring an average amount of magical power into the glyph.

Immediately, the array on the paper began to glow. It started off dim and pathetic, but within a few seconds, the light was so bright that it forced Thierry to close his eyes and cover them with his right arm, lest he be blinded by the light of the glyph. The moment his eyes closed, Thierry felt his entire body lurch and his stomach churn as the glyph worked its (no pun intended) magic and pulled Thierry to wherever Azazel was at that moment in time.

After several moments, the light stopped breaking through the blackness of Thierry's vision, and as such he found it safe enough to open his eyes. The moment he did so, the young assassin was greeted by the sight of his commander-in-chief, Azazel, standing in front of him with a rather serious expression. The man was clad in his more formal long jacket and suit trousers, all in various shades of purple or black, and held a bag in his left hand.

"_Azazel." _He intoned neutrally, earning a nod from the aforementioned Fallen Angel. However, before he could even consider replying, or Thierry offer up a question as to their whereabouts, a second voice broke through the night-time air.

"Pierr-kun, what are you doing here?"

The moment the words left the persons' mouth with their all-too-familiar tone, Thierry had spun around on his heel and drawn the katana that was sat on his right hip, revealing the ominous crimson blade to the world. Sirzech Lucifer could only audibly gulp as the fearsome weapon rested against his throat, drawing shocked gasps from the other people present, save for the Governor General of the Fallen Angels, who let out a sigh of exasperation.

"_Take another step, __**Devil**__, and I'll take your fucking head." _Thierry growled, earning a wide eyed look from Sirzech as he caught Grayfia narrowing her eyes and backing up slightly after attempting to come to her husband's aid. Thierry kept his weapon on the current Lucifer's throat steadily and refused to blink, but before he could even contemplate removing the Devil's head, a strong grip made itself known on his right shoulder.

"Drop the blade Thierry. We have more important things to deal with than racial hatred." He stated sternly, earning a look of loathing from Thierry; who could not fathom as to why the Viceroy would not order him to take the opportunity with both hands. However, despite his prayers that the man was pulling a sick joke, Thierry found himself lowering his blade with a clear snarl of anger and frustration.

"_I could have ruined our enemies power Azazel, care to explain why the __**fuck **__you didn't let me?" _

"Because we are here to make peace, my friend." A distinctly masculine yet melodious voice called out, causing Thierry to jerk his head in the direction of the owners voice. Said person was arguably one of the most magnificent beings he had ever seen.

The individual in question was roughly as tall as Thierry at about six foot two, and was clad in a pristine white robe that hid his body from view. Across his broad shoulders rested to pauldrons of silver and gold that looked more like the wings of Angels than any mere mortal bird; the front of his robe was marked by a glorious red and golden tunic piece that had been fitted across the top, and it clearly displayed the cross of Christ. The mans' features were absolutely breath-taking; flawless skin, a soft yet defined jawline and warm green eyes that seemed deeper than any ocean gave him an ethereal beauty that no-one could hope to match.

From the moment he had heard his voice Thierry had known, but after taking in the mans' appearance and the halo above his head, Thierry now knew without a doubt that this was Michael; the first Seraph and the single strongest Angel in Heaven…..whilst the woman beside him was also someone Thierry could place merely at sight.

'The strongest Woman in Heaven' Gabriel was truly beyond all mortal words of description; porcelain-like skin, angelic features and a down-right sinful body that was clad in a tight-fitting robe, which served to only highlight her generous bust and perfectly shaped hips. Had she been any other woman, Thierry would have freely admitted that she was the single-most beautiful creature he had ever seen.

But alas…..

'_She's just an Angel.' _

Taking a calming breath, Thierry finally re-sheathed his sword, but not before placing his right hand over the firing mechanism that was built into the sheath. Casting a glance back at his employer, Thierry fixed the strongest of the Fallen Angels with a withering glare for several moments before speaking.

"_Care to explain why you summoned me to discuss a __**Grigori **__matter in-front of our __**enemies**__, Azazel?" _ He asked venomously, earning shocked looks from those surrounding him, bar Azazel, who let out a small sigh before replying to his surrogate son.

"This isn't just a Grigori problem anymore." He replied neutrally, earning a small frown of confusion from Thierry. However, the tone of the Viceroy's voice and the way in which he placed emphasis on the concept of 'anymore' soon lead Thierry to a sudden, and blood-boiling conclusion.

"_That bastard Kokabiel's made his move, hasn't he?" _

"Indeed he has. Less than four hours ago, the Vatican and the Easter Orthodox Christian Church were attacked by unknown assailants, who stole three of the seven Excalibur pieces. The guard details were completely decimated, and given their strength, only someone of great power, or enough power to make dangerous individuals work for them, could have pulled this heist off." Michael intoned seriously, earning a nod of approval from his sister, who gestures for Serafall to continue.

"Merely two hours after the attack, Kokabiel left the Grigori Headquarters, if Azazel's information is one hundred percent accurate, and headed for Kuoh town."

"Currently, we believe he plans to use the swords of our Father to slay the two heiress in Kuoh, and thus re-trigger the Great War. And given the influx of troops that Kokabiel commands into the City, it's obvious that he plans to strike soon." Gabriel finished calmly in a melodious voice, earning a small nod from Thierry as he ran the information back through his mind several times. After several moments of processing the information, Thierry turned to Azazel.

"_Azazel, I'd like to request permission to return to Kuoh so I can rip that bastards wings off myself." _Thierry said neutrally, earning raised eyebrows from those present. Said leader merely shook his head in the negative, before adding on afterwards.

"I need you on the trail of that AA-35. You're the best man for the job in the entire world at the moment, because if anyone can stop a war re-starting, it is you." Azazel replied neutrally to Thierry's request, causing the young man to turn away and snarl in frustration.

Kokabiel had taken virtually _everything _from Thierry when he was a child….

_He _caused the war in his home country.

_He _stole his childhood from him.

_He _stole his friends and innocence from him.

And he needed to _pay _for what he had done.

So it was only fair that Thierry ended his life.

'_An eye for an eye.'_

Eventually though, Thierry began to see the logic in Azazel's words; he was the only person in the world with enough power and skill to chase the shipment quickly enough to stop it from being used. It frustrated him to no end, but ultimately Thierry was a soldier trying to stop the onset of another Great-War; and if that meant swallowing his pride and potentially missing out on the chance to butcher Kokabiel like a dog, then he would do it.

That didn't mean he liked it though.

"_Fine, but I can't do this alone; I'm going to need some help." _Thierry stated calmly, drawing a nod out of Azazel who went to respond to his legendary subordinate, but before he could, he was cut off by the official 'ditz of Heaven'.

"If you require assistance, I am sure that we or the Devils will be able to provide you with aid." She stated in a friendly tone of voice, whilst her words caused Sirzech and Serafall to nod their heads in verification of the buxom blonds statement. However, Thierry noticed that the way she spoke was clearly a means of trying to get him to calm down and at least co-operate with the other two factions on something so important. Yet despite this, Thierry also knew that he needed help if he wanted to accomplish this mission, if only so that he wouldn't have to get bogged down fighting low-level opponents on his way to important objectives.

'_Trouble is that with my absence, Vali's probably been deployed to Kuoh in-case Kokabiel makes a play whilst Azazel 'aint there. So I'm going to need someone else who I can trust to watch my back…..and as it stands there's only one person on that list who isn't busy or dead.' _Thierry mused to himself. But much like whenever his thoughts strayed into such territory, another part of his mind argued against his cold logic.

'_There's no-way you can even think of putting her into that kind of danger! This could potentially be a suicide mission!' _

'_I've been training her for the past few weeks to fight, __**NOT **__to fucking sit around in my place and look after it.' _

'_If you care for her you wouldn't put her in danger.' _

'_I care for her: the fact that I'm willing to let her fight again shows that she has my faith. And nothing is going to change that fact, or my decision.' _Thierry finished with an air of finality, causing the rebellious portion of his mind to slink away in defeat. The moment his mind was in order, Thierry turned to face the pleasantly smiling Gabriel, who clearly hoped that he would accept her offer of assistance.

Unfortunately for the Lady Gabriel, Thierry still had no intention of ever working with a Devil or someone affiliated with Heaven.

"_Your people will only slow me down: I already have someone in mind. Excuse me for a moment whilst I make a call." _ With that Thierry turned his back on the 'Strongest Woman in Heaven', along with four other rather shocked leader-class beings. Pulling out his mobile, Thierry swiftly navigated to his contacts and put in a call to his home residence in Kuoh academy. Within moments of the phone ringing, Thierry heard the line being picked up and slightly heavy breathing down the other end of the line as the person struggled to speak between breaths.

"**Thierry is that you?" **Raynare asked breathlessly, earning a small smile from Thierry as he imagined the sprint that the buxom Fallen must have put in to reach the phone that quickly. But just as quickly as his smile had appeared, it vanished in favour of Thierry's normally stoic visage.

"_It's me Raynare. I need you to get my gear out of storage and then to use the glyph I gave you ASAP." _

"**What's happened?" **

Her response was steely and professional, but Thierry could also detect a genuine undercurrent of concern and worry permeating her voice. Letting out a small sigh, Thierry briefly massaged his temples with his free hand before answering the troubled young Fallen on the other end of the line.

"_It's not something I can talk about over the phone. Just do as I've asked you… and make sure to grab the two supply boxes next to my main bag. I have a horrible feeling that we're going to need it." _He replied tersely, eliciting an affirmative from Raynare who subsequently dropped her end of the line in favour of completing the task that the Strongest Human had given her.

Locking his phone and sealing it away, Thierry took out his glyph and placed it on the floor before walking away from it and leaning against a nearby wall. A tense silence soon followed, with most of the people present keeping their gazes fixed firmly on the young human in their midst. Normally such looks would have Thierry annoyed or anxious, but with Azazel present and Raynare soon to arrive, Thierry felt a lot more comfortable than he had at the celebrations two days ago.

'_Well, at least Yumi was __**kind **__enough to alleviate my fears.' _Thierry thought to himself with a mental chuckle as his mind strayed back to the gorgeous blond.

Thierry would be absolutely lying through his teeth if he said he didn't find Yumi Kiba to be beautiful: she was absolutely drop-dead gorgeous, much like Akeno. But unlike the Fallen Angel hybrid, Yumi also seemed to find Thierry attractive enough to at least warrant some sort of physical lust… and although most of the time when Thierry was dealing with such matters it was a one-way street, he'd again be a liar if he said he didn't feel some sort of attraction to the blond. Nothing that strayed beyond lust and an appreciation of her physical form, but he was attracted none-the-less: and that was something he looked forward to immensely, if only for the prospect of getting laid again.

'_Five months is way too long.' _

Eventually, Thierry was brought out of his absent thought drifting by a bright flash of light that swiftly faded to reveal a serious looking Raynare. Gone were the hot-pants and stolen shirts, and in their place was an outfit that was not too dissimilar to Thierry's 'Jackal' garb. Black fire-proof trousers and jacket were covered by lighter looking body-armour, whilst her hair was tied up into a pony-tail and a lower face-mask rested comfortably around her neck like a mini scarf. Thierry had forced her to wear the gear after she had shown him the skimpy attire that she had originally worn when working with her friends; and all it took to convince her was Thierry showing her some of the burns and cuts that he had received in his time working for Azazel and the government back home.

Needless to say, she had made the switch to Thierry's more conservative outfit very quickly.

In the young woman's arms were two bags, whilst a third was placed on her back properly. Smiling to himself Thierry walked towards the young woman who had dropped the two bags in her arms before taking the third bag off of her shoulders and handing it to Thierry who nodded his head gratefully.

Immediately the 'Strongest Human' undid the zip on the duffle bag, revealing his normal clothing to the cool night-time air. Pulling out the parts, Thierry did a quick inventory to make sure everything was there before he began removing the gear he was already wearing. Upon reaching his undershirt, it appeared that Raynare had finally had enough of his silence, if the ever-growing tick-mark on her head was anything to go by…..

But Thierry ignored it…

And so the damn burst.

"Care to explain what the hell this is all about, you French git? Because if this is for some sort of training, I'll kick your ass. Strongest human in the Grigori or not." She stated testily, earning a small chuckle from Azazel, Sirzech and Serafall. But before any of them could say anything, Grayfia finally decided to speak up.

"We can assure you, Miss, that this is no training exercise."

Thierry wasn't exactly aware of what happened next, but what he _did _vaguely manage to discern was an understandable amount of shock and fear from Raynare before Azazel managed to calm her down. After that, she just stayed silent as the leaders of the Three Factions quickly explained the situation to her, or at least Thierry assumed that was what they were doing as he continued to slip into his gear.

Within the space of a minute and a half, Thierry had stripped himself of 'Pierr's tactical gear', and instead replaced it with the fearsome visage of 'The Jackal'. Gone was the combat vest and jack-booted combat-trousers, and in its place the nightmare black and grey armour and underclothing that had made Thierry so infamous and terrifying. He had just pulled his goggles on and was pulling on the face-mask of his outfit when he was finally directly addressed again.

"You picked me because you trust me?"

Turning his attention back to the group, Thierry found his goggle-hidden vison being met by the blazing violet orbs that were Raynare's eyes. After several seconds of silence, Thierry decided that honesty was the best policy.

"_I'll entrust my life to you if you do the same for me, Raynare." _He replied softly, earning a slightly shocked look from the girl. Eventually though she walked straight over to Thierry and hugged him tightly.

"There's no-one else I'd rather trust, Thierry." She whispered in his ear, earning a small smile from the teenage-assassin. Pushing her away gently, Thierry turned his attention to Azazel in order to speak to him and run through their typical pre-mission discussions.

"_Azazel, what's my budget? _

"Blank cheque Thierry."

"_Capture/Kill orders?" _

"None. These animals want to ruin our only chance at peace. No prisoners. No mercy."

"_If I should finish before Kokabiel makes his move?" _

"His head is yours."

That part caused Thierry to smile viciously; he'd been waiting for almost six years for a chance to bring that bastard down, and now he was finally going to get it. He'd grown up in the single most abusive environment on the face of the Earth; run by the most depraved government of the late 20th and early 21st Century. He remembered every _single _piece of abuse, every _single _threat at gun-point; how the government had turned him from a starving orphan who was barely getting by, to a battle crazed, blood-lusting killing machine.

Kokabiel had created the environment that had produced the monster that Thierry was, deep within his own ravaged and broken mind.

Now it was finally time for the _'The Butcher of Lecan' _to shed his human skin once more…

And remind the world why they feared 'The Jackal'.

Walking over to the two bags that Raynare had dropped, the young Assassin quickly slung the bigger of the two over his shoulders before gesturing for Raynare to stand next to him, which she did almost immediately. Cracking his knuckles, Thierry sent a nod Azazel's way before calling upon his gargantuan magical reserves and his theory in order to generate the magical circle that would take he and Raynare to Russia.

Giving his boss one last look, Thierry sent the man a small, appreciative wave before his entire form was engulfed by the light of the white magic circle that had formed underneath him and Raynare. Eventually, after several moments, the light died down and left the leaders of the 'Three Great Factions' standing by their-selves again.

Seconds of silence soon stretched to minutes as an oppressive, almost palpable silence filled the meeting area. Not even Serafall or Gabriel, who were renowned for being unable to read tense situations, were willing to break the suffocating silence that had enveloped the six remaining beings. After what seemed like an age, the silence finally forced someone to crack…

And it was the most unsuspecting person there.

"Azazel-donno, Kokabiel is responsible for Thierry's early life, isn't he?" Grayfia asked quietly, earning raised eyebrows from the two representatives of Heaven and a small, sad nod of the head from Azazel.

"Yes he is Grayfia-san. That bastard brought hell-on-Earth into Thierry's life, and now it's going to bite him in the fucking arse….or more likely his throat." Azazel finished darkly, earning further confused looks from Gabriel and Michael, whilst Serafall and Sirzech's frames tensed.

"I always knew Kokabiel was a war-monger, but what he did to that country was fucking monstrous. Only the original Satan's and their children would have been sick enough to do something like that to an entire country…and even they would have probably drawn the line at child soldiers." Serafall spat angrily, whilst Sirzech merely snarled in agreement. However, two people present were still out-of-the-loop when it came to Thierry's past, and they both wanted in.

"Ano, what are you talking about, Mao-samma, Azazel-samma?" Gabriel asked politely, her head cocked to the side and her blond hair following her movements. Michael voiced his agreement, and as such the Viceroy of the Grigori answered his pure-winged brethren.

"Thierry is not a French national: he was born in Zencasia as an orphan, four years before the start of the civil war." The Leader of the Fallen watched as Gabriel hid her mouth behind her hand in an effort to stop her gasp from becoming too loud, whilst Michael merely frowned, whilst gesturing for his Fallen brother to continue. It seemed that the news of the civil war had even reached the mighty walls of Heaven. Taking a deep breath, Azazel continued in providing them with the information the desperately sought.

"Thierry was abducted off of the streets at the age of four and trained as a part of a government plan, called 'The Mulsas Project'. He was trained until he was aged six, at which point he was deployed to the battlefield as a child soldier…..as a squad leader. Eventually he was transferred to the '_Reaper' _division. He told me about what he did in that god-forsaken division only once, and for the whole time he never stopped shaking and checking his surroundings.

I've seen thousands of soldiers with PTSD….but at least they could get a decent nights' sleep a lot of the time. Thierry is lucky if he gets five or six hours of sleep a week."

By this point no-body had dry eyes: Gabriel and Serafall were openly crying and Grayfia was faring little better, as were Michael and Sirzech…..with each of them thinking roughly the same thing.

'_By god, how could he survive all of that! No child should ever have to fight and die: least of all for beliefs that are not their own.' _Michael thought to himself darkly; he had kept a fairly close eye on the conflict as it had unfolded. He wished he could have done something to stop the violence, but there was simply no way for the Angels to get involved without drawing the ire of the rest of the Supernatural world.

'_Father…..how could you make humans be so cruel?' _Gabriel thought in-between her heart-wrenching sobs. In heaven, children were incredibly rare, given the nature of childbirth and sex within the Kingdom of Heaven. And as a consequence, these children were treated with absolute love and care by the entirety of Heaven… and as such, to think that a government had treated so many children so cruelly literally made the 'The most beautiful of all god's Angels' sick in disgust.

Sirzech, Grayfia and Serafall all thought similar things: Devil children were rare, especially of the pure-blood variety, and as such, they were treated like glass by the vast majority of grown Devils. It was most of the reason that Serafall and Sirzech dotted on their baby sisters so much: they were literally small, (unholy) miracles. Eventually, after a while, Grayfia managed to compose herself enough to speak.

"Then why is he still fighting?"

"What?" Azazel responded dumbly, earning a small snarl out of the normally calm and composed Queen and wife of Lucifer.

"That boy should never have to step foot onto another battlefield: he should've been given a family who loved him and cherished him. He should've been given the childhood that he never had in Zencasia…..

SO WHY IS HE STILL FIGHTING AZAZEL?"

She had started off quietly, but by the end of her speech, Grayfia was virtually screaming at the top of her lungs in rage. In fact, so out of control was the 'Silver-Haired Queen of Annihilation' that she had lost control of her magic to the point that the very ground she stood on was freezing over. Azazel took a step back and hung his head in shame whilst Sirzech swept his wife into a tight embrace until she finally regained her composure. After a while, Azazel managed to find enough resolves in his body to answer the horror-struck mother.

"Because he asked me not to." He whispered gently. Grayfia went to protest, but before she could she was cut off by the Viceroy of the Fallen.

"He told me that fighting was all he knew: that all he would ever know. He told me that he wasn't born to be a scientist or a teacher, that he wasn't meant to be a normal person. He told me that from his first day in service to the government, he'd realised that he was _born _to fight, _born to kill._

It made me sick to hear a child say those words. But the more missions I sent him on and the more I sparred with him, the more I realised that he was right. He may have been an absolute genius with the potential to be anyone; but the call of the battlefield literally burns within his veins. Anything outside of fighting that he knows is something he's been taught….his skills in combat are all based around pure instinct.

You couldn't make a better soldier if you tried.

There's just _something _in him. I don't know if its genetics or if it's some sort of twisted cosmic joke, but Thierry is single-handedly the best natural warrior to have ever lived, and that ever will live." Azazel's words were uttered at little more than a whisper, but they reached every single person with the same intensity as if he had been shouting him. No-one had made a move to disagree, but eventually Gabriel found the courage to voice her thoughts.

"Azazel….I saw his soul when he first came here. If he were such a soldier, then it would be as black as the darkest of nights. Yet I found myself staring at a soul that was as pure as any Angels…..yet it was veiled by darkness, not tainted." She stated calmly, earning a small nod from her brother and Azazel.

"I agree, Gabriel-chan. His soul is as white as yours or Michael-kuns: but its veiled by the monstrous actions he's been forced to commit…and the monster he houses within his mind."

"What do you mean? Pi….Thierry has always seemed like a fairly normal person to me." Serafall intoned solemnly. Azazel merely shook his head before he continued with his explanation.

"Thierry may seem like a normal person to all of you: a man who has merely had bad things forced upon him. But the Zencasian government twisted parts of his mind: twisted it until they made a monster that he fights to keep locked away….but now…"

"Kokabiel has unleashed the '_Butcher of Lecan' _upon himself….."

"And not even God himself would have been able to protect him from The Jackal when he hunts."

* * *

_**A/N:**_

_**And there we have it ladies and gentlemen. **_

_**Bitch of a cliff-hanger for me to leave the story on as I enter the Public-Exam season and my mini 36 day Hiatus from writing, but hey, I need to build the suspense and hype. **_

_**And what better way than with a cliff-hanger. **_

_**Now like I said above, this is my final update for 36 days as I work my balls of for my A-levels, so please be patient with me. These are the grades that determine whether or not I get into Uni, so I'm pretty committed to doing well in these :p , and less so to my writing. **_

_**But I will ensure that the first chapter back will be with you on the 18**__**th**__** June at 9:00 PM GMT, so put that date in your diaries, because It's gonna be one hell of a return….and certainly one you won't want to miss. **_

_**Any ways, I need to get back to complaining about the unfairness of exams and what not, but please do tell me what you thought of the chapter and just how excited you are for the upcoming events of this arc with a Review, and make sure that you don't miss out on my return by dropping a fave or a follow (perhaps both?). **_

_**Keep it real like a Ninja, folks. **_

_**Peace, **_

_**MetalGearMantis. **_

_**P.S: Oh, did I mention that there's a little sneak-peek at the bottom of the chapter? **_

_**No? **_

_**Well now you know! **_

_**P.P.S: Please excuse any Spelling Etc. errors, I have yet to check through this again, so they will probably be present for a while yet.**_

* * *

_**(SNEAK PEEK OF THE 'ACID AIR' AND 'EXCALIBUR' DUAL ARC.)**_

Thierry grit his teeth in frustration as he eyed up his opponent.

Tauriel was in an even worse condition than he was: he once gorgeous brown hair had become matted with blood, sweat and grime whilst her once gorgeous face had become an ugly mess of bruises and cuts. Her body was littered with large-scale, ugly burns and gashes that were steadily pouring with blood. She literally looked like she was on her last legs, and that was something that Thierry was extremely grateful for.

The large red digital clock that had, somehow, stayed in-tact throughout their titanic clash….and all the while it continued its foreboding count-down until the AA-35 was unleashed upon Kyoto.

3:20.

Three minutes and twenty seconds.

'_Come on Thierry, just a little bit more.' _

Taking a deep breath, Thierry brought his sword to bear once more on the buxom Fallen, whilst casting a glance at the small, unconscious form of the girl some fifteen metres from the two of them. Tauriel had brought a _child _into this whole mess….threatened Thierry and Raynare, his friend. Threatened to re-start the great war for her 'beloved' master.

That was reason enough to dig that little bit deeper….

And finally end this madness once and for all.


	8. Chapter 8

**Authors Notes = A/N**

"Normal Speech."

'_Thoughts." _

"_Foreign Language." _

"_**Sacred Gears/Weapon spirits speech." **_

'_**Sacred Gear/ Weapon spirits thoughts." **_

* * *

_**A/N:**_

**Why hello there everybody! Been a long ol' while, hasn't it? **

**As I am sure you all know, I have now finished my public exams which means I now have roughly four months free to work on my stories and make some serious progress before I enter University and get to work there. As a result, I will be updating almost every single story every two or three days, because I don't want to leave you guys hanging in the middle of an arc for a month whilst I get settled into University. **

**Aside from that, all I really have to say is welcome back to 'The Jackal of the Grigori'. **

**And get ready…..**

**Because things are about to get interesting. **

* * *

_Disclaimer: See chapter 1. _

* * *

_(Last time in: The Jackal of the Grigori) _

"_Then why is he still fighting?" _

"_What?" Azazel responded dumbly, earning a small snarl out of the normally calm and composed Queen and wife of Lucifer. _

"_That boy should never have to step foot onto another battlefield: he should've been given a family who loved him and cherished him. He should've been given the childhood that he never had in Zencasia….._

_SO WHY IS HE STILL FIGHTING AZAZEL?" _

_She had started off quietly, but by the end of her speech, Grayfia was virtually screaming at the top of her lungs in rage. In fact, so out of control was the 'Silver-Haired Queen of Annihilation' that she had lost control of her magic to the point that the very ground she stood on was freezing over. Azazel took a step back and hung his head in shame whilst Sirzech swept his wife into a tight embrace until she finally regained her composure. After a while, Azazel managed to find enough resolves in his body to answer the horror-struck mother. _

"_Because he asked me not to." He whispered gently. Grayfia went to protest, but before she could she was cut off by the Viceroy of the Fallen. _

"_He told me that fighting was all he knew: that all he would ever know. He told me that he wasn't born to be a scientist or a teacher, that he wasn't meant to be a normal person. He told me that from his first day in service to the government, he'd realised that he was born to fight, born to kill._

_It made me sick to hear a child say those words. But the more missions I sent him on and the more I sparred with him, the more I realised that he was right. He may have been an absolute genius with the potential to be anyone; but the call of the battlefield literally burns within his veins. Anything outside of fighting that he knows is something he's been taught….his skills in combat are all based around pure instinct. _

_You couldn't make a better soldier if you tried._

_There's just something in him. I don't know if its genetics or if it's some sort of twisted cosmic joke, but Thierry is single-handedly the best natural warrior to have ever lived, and that ever will live." Azazel's words were uttered at little more than a whisper, but they reached every single person with the same intensity as if he had been shouting him. No-one had made a move to disagree, but eventually Gabriel found the courage to voice her thoughts. _

"_Azazel….I saw his soul when he first came here. If he were such a soldier, then it would be as black as the darkest of nights. Yet I found myself staring at a soul that was as pure as any Angels…..yet it was veiled by darkness, not tainted." She stated calmly, earning a small nod from her brother and Azazel. _

"_I agree, Gabriel-chan. His soul is as white as yours or Michael-kuns: but its veiled by the monstrous actions he's been forced to commit…and the monster he houses within his mind." _

"_What do you mean? Pi….Thierry has always seemed like a fairly normal person to me." Serafall intoned solemnly. Azazel merely shook his head before he continued with his explanation. _

"_Thierry may seem like a normal person to all of you: a man who has merely had bad things forced upon him. But the Zencasian government twisted parts of his mind: twisted it until they made a monster that he fights to keep locked away….but now…"_

"_Kokabiel has unleashed the 'Butcher of Lecan' upon himself….."_

"_And not even God himself would have been able to protect him from The Jackal when he hunts."_

* * *

_**(Chapter Seven: Let the hunt begin!)**_

* * *

"I'm worried about him Tsubaki."

Said Queen looked up from the pile of paperwork she had been diligently filling out for the past few hours to look to her closest friend and King, Sona. Said girl was currently stood opposite Tsubaki, with her back facing her Queen as she looked out over the now darkness-clad image of Kuoh Academy. Her posture was tense from stress and worry, whilst her voice was ever so slightly strained, if the slight quiver in her voice was anything to go by. Something was seriously troubling the Sitiri heiress if it was affecting her like this: especially when you considered that Sona was someone who prided herself on her emotional control and her 'professional' appearance. She had battled against some rather horrific Stray Devil's and seen the atrocities that they committed first hand, and yet she had remained completely in control.

So this had to be something pretty damn big for it to get this kind of response.

Getting up from her chair, Tsubaki quickly worked out the kinks in her back before casting a fleeting glance around the room, revealing it to be empty; as she expected. All members of Sona's peerage (bare Tsubaki) were either away on jobs or had gone home for the evening, leaving the two young she-devils alone with nobody else for company. Walking over to the girl she considered a sister in all but blood, Tsubaki gently placed a comforting hand on her King's shoulder before gently applying enough pressure to force Sona to turn around…

And reveal a _tear. _

It was tiny, so small that had it not been for the gentle glint of the moonlight, Tsubaki would have missed it. It slowly trickled down her friends soft, white skin like a raindrop on glass: and considering the small frown on Sona's face, perhaps likening her emotional state to that of glass was not a foolish thing to do. She looked like she may just crack at any minute if any more stress was pilled on-top of her. Between her duties as an heiress, the position of 'Student Council President' and the upcoming 'Young Devils' gathering, Tsubaki was not surprised that the final weight on her shoulders seemed to be the one that was sending her over the tipping point. Smiling softly to her best friend, Tsubaki tried to offer her some words of encouragement.

"Sona, Pierr-kun is a very powerful magician, I'm certain that whatever he is dealing with is just taking him a while to sort out." Tsubaki said gently, using her King's first name without any sort of suffix in order to convey the fact that she was speaking as her best friend, not her Queen. Sona looked away for several seconds before she spoke up again, her frown growing slightly as she spoke.

"When Yumi told him to be careful, his reply indicated that whatever he was about to do: it was going to be something extremely dangerous, even for someone of his power and skill." She replied tersely, earning a small sigh from Tsubaki as she tried to out-reason Sona in an effort to try and get the extremely logical girl to calm down. Unfortunately for the Queen of the Sitiri heiress, this was something that was fair more easily said than done.

"You know how Pierr-kun is, Sona, perhaps better than anyone. He probably didn't mean it: and even if he did, he's strong. You should have more faith in him."

"He has my faith!" Sona snapped, her face twisting into an angry snarl as she wheeled on Tsubaki, who took a step back in shock at her friends outburst. She knew that Sona seemed to have feelings for Pierr that stretched….. _beyond _'platonic', and this outburst just served to confirm just how strong those feelings seemed to be. For her King, a notorious 'Ice Princess' in the Underworld, to react so strongly to her words meant that there were some _very _strong feelings there, buried underneath her cold exterior. Tsubaki went to reply to her surrogate sister, but before she could, Sona continued to speak.

"It's not that he doesn't have my faith! Of course he does, I know that he's a very powerful magician, I've seen the memoires that Rias has of his training days. But that doesn't mean that he's invincible, Tsubaki! What if he gets injured badly? He can't call anyone for help that I know of, given his lone wolf nature. What if he gets captured and tortured?

And what if that stupid, brilliant, handsome, arrogant but wonderful idiot gets… gets….."

"Killed?"

A thick and heavy silence permeated the room after Tsubaki's question. It was a possibility neither of them wanted to even contemplate, but they both knew that in the Supernatural world, it was best to take into consideration any and all potential outcomes; no matter how you felt about them. And whilst they knew Pierr was one hell of a magician, there was always someone bigger, stronger and tougher in the world, just waiting for the opportunity to crush you underneath their boot. It was something that, whilst you grew accustomed to, you never came to truly accept… simply because it just added to the bleakness of the world that surrounded them.

Every day was lived in fear: either from a random Fallen Angel attack or Exorcist looking to make a name for themselves, and sometimes even other Devils.

And that was just on a local scale, never mind the knife-edge that the Supernatural world balanced on; simply waiting for the right amount of momentum to send it plummeting into the depths of a second 'Great War'. So it was only natural that Sona would feel so worried for the young man that seemed to have earned a small place in her heart. After all, there was no telling as to whether or not you were going to wake up the next morning in the Supernatural world, let alone make it back from a dangerous sounding mission.

So it was with a measured amount of grace and gentleness that Tsubaki took her king's hand and slowly guided her to the nearest sofa, in the middle of the room. Forcing her onto the comfortable leather, Tsubaki watched as her king closed her eyes before letting out a bitter chuckle.

"By the Mao, you must think I'm a weakling, acting like this over just one person." Sona commented off-handedly in a bitter tone of voice that did not suit the gorgeous Sitri heiress at all. Letting out what seemed to be her millionth sigh of the evening, Tsubaki rested her right hand on her King's cheek as she turned her gaze away from her long-time Queen before turning her head so that she could meet her warm brown gaze….

Before having her head whipped back into position by a fierce slap from her buxom Queen.

"With the greatest amount of respect, Kaichou, you need to stop with this stupidity." Tsubaki stated sternly, earning a faint widening of the eyes from Sona as she gingerly rubbed her cheek, too shocked to do anything else. Waiting until her King had fixed her attention solely onto her, Tsubaki took a calming breath before voicing her opinions on the matter.

"Kaichou, as you Queen I must inform you that it is unbecoming of the Heiress of the Sitri clan to work herself up into such a state over hypotheticals and 'what if' scenarios. Your family prides itself on its logical skills and water magic, not hyperventilating at the first negative thought that enters their heads…." Tsubaki deliberately trailed off as her King straightened her skirt out and sniffed slightly before taking a deep breath to compose herself. A few moments later and her infamous blank mask was back in place, but before she could offer any form of 'formal' comment, Tsubaki enacted the second half of the plan that she had concocted.

'_This is the opportunity we've been waiting for! Who knows when we'll next get a chance to push Sona in the right direction with our favourite Frenchie.' _

"But as a girl, speaking to another girl who she considers to be her best friend…..I only really have one thing to ask you…"

"What?"

"Do you _like _Pierr, Sona?"

The moment the words left Tsubaki's mouth, Sona's face turned a healthy red as her cheeks flushed red and her breathing hitched. Her mask fell again and was replaced with a mild look of shock that was most certainly out of place on the young Sitri heiress. A million thoughts seemed to be racing around in her mind as she tried to create a response for her Queen's rather blunt and personal question. And before she could truly delve into the issue, Tsubaki decided to force the issue and prevent her best friend from avoiding the real question that she'd asked.

"Before you even start, don't try and pull the 'of course I like him, he's my friend' card on me, I'm just going to tell you that I know that's not true, so you may as well come out with the truth first time round, Sona. It'll be easier that way."

Several minutes past after Tsubaki spoke, leaving her and Sona in a somewhat awkward silence (well for a certain heiress at least). The former of the two girls sat on the sofa and waited patiently as her King seemed to rattle through an internal monologue at a million miles an hour, if the way her eyes were darting about was anything to go by. And seeing as Tsubaki knew all of her friends' tells, she knew that she was having a serious internal debate about the issue, which was understandable given Sona's nature. She was not a very expressive girl, and she took matters such as love, sadness, physical attraction and so on very personally, as she was easily embarrassed by discussing such matters. The only people she ever seemed comfortable with even lightly discussing the issue with where Tsubaki herself, her mother and, rather surprisingly, Serafall.

Most of the time, Sona was highly embarrassed by her sister's childlike persona and attitude, and as such rarely discussed any form of personal issue with her. However, when it came to things pertaining to her younger sibling's happiness, Serafall would drop her childlike act and behave like a mature yet loving older sister, as nothing mattered more to her than keeping Sona happy. But unfortunately, those occasion were rare for Serafall, and as such it more often than not fell on either Sona's mother of Tsubaki herself to listen to the young Sitri heiress' woes.

Just like now.

"Yes, I do like him."

Sona's voice was barely above a whisper, in fact had even the faintest gust of wind passed through the room, Tsubaki would have sworn that the words would have been lost to her. Fortunately the windows were closed, so she did hear her friends words, and she couldn't help but smile at them lightly. Gesturing slightly with her hand, Tsubaki waved for her King to elaborate on that statement and fill her in on some of the details. Sona bit her lip for several seconds, as if in deep thought about something before she finally relaxed her stiff posture and began to speak.

"I don't really know how to phrase what I feel. But if I had to say anything, I just feel happy whenever Pierr's around. I find him to be the best company I keep outside of the peerage and Rias' group. He's funny, witty and a great friend who I've come to care for a great deal over these past few months…

I don't love him or anything like that, but I certainly would like to see if our relationship can extend beyond 'just friends' and into something more. I just don't know how to go about that yet, though."

Tsubaki smiled warmly at her King's honest words: Sona was far too serious sometimes for her own good, so the chance for someone like Pierr to worm his way into her heart and get her to lighten up could only be a good thing. She needed to relax a lot more, and it seemed like Pierr was truly the only person capable of doing that. Whilst she herself never had any form of dating experience, she knew that Momo, Akeno and even Yumi had dated boys before, so it was just a case of figuring out who Sona would be most comfortable with and pushing them in that direction.

So with her plan set, Tsubaki pulled her best friend into a hug before whispering in her ear.

"I don't know much myself Kaichou, but there's no need to worry about such things for now. Wait until Pierr gets back, and then we can go from there."

"Thanks Tsubaki." Here Sona paused to laugh as the two pulled away from one-another before Tsubaki continued speaking.

"I wonder what that crazy Frenchman's up to now?

"With him, anything from destroying an Aircraft carrier to attacking a Russian Mafia boss is probably not out of the question." Sona replied in her usual dry monotone, earning a blank look from Tsubaki as she stared at her King, before breaking down into peals of laughter alongside the Sitiri heiress at the absurdity of either idea actually happening.

…..

…..

…..

If only they knew the half of it.

* * *

_(Moscow, Russia, The Sickle Club, main room, at the same time) _

"REMIND ME! WHY THE FUCK WE'RE ATTACKING THE RUSSIAN MOB AGAIN, JACKAL?"

"WE NEED THE INFO THEY HAVE ON KOKABIEL'S SHIPMENT! AND BESIDES, YOU THINK THIS IS BAD, HAZE? HAHAHAHA! YOU SHOULD'VE BEEN THERE WHEN ME AN' VALI TOOK OUT AN AIRCRAFT CARRIER!" Aforementioned hitman shouted back to his Fallen Angel companion before emerging from behind the sofa he was currently hiding behind before unloading six quick return shots into the never-ending storm of automatic weapons fire that was raining down upon him with his favourite pistol. Those shots would earn him three kills as the two guards that were closing in on his position, as well as killing a third man who was on the balcony above them with a P90 sub-machine-gun, who was sent tumbling over the edge and only stopped moving when his head exploded on contact with the floor.

"YOU'RE INSANE!" Raynare screamed at her friend as she huddled down into the booth she was currently trapped in, in an effort to avoid the bullets that were slowly beginning to punch through the incredibly thick would and leather, whilst Thierry stayed in the open and continued to pick off guards until his magazine ran dry. Said Hitman 'tsked' in annoyance at his companions words before shouting out to her in ancient Greek, so that their human foes would be unable to understand what they were saying.

"My sanity aside for the moment _Raynare, I do actually have a plan to get us out of this. In a few seconds, I'm going to move out of this cover and draw the attention of the group that are dug in whilst killing the rest of these fuck-heads that are more open. The moment I do that, I want you to pull the pin on a grenade and hold it for three seconds before lobbing it at those bastards that are dug in up there!" _Raynare gaped at her comrades orders for several seconds before regaining enough of her wits to try and offer some form of opposition to her friends' mad scheme.

"_There's no-way you'll kill all of them!" _

"_I don't appreciate that kind of negativity." _Thierry replied coolly as he set about reloading his pistol and drawing his High-frequency combat knife. Raynare let out a growl of frustration as she realised that he really planned on going through with this before finding enough courage (and a gap in the firing) to assess the field of battle that she and her new best friend / confident found themselves in.

Said battlefield would have once been the lounge area of an extremely well-to-do club/bar in Moscow. The entire area was probably around fifteen meters wide and about just as deep with an expansive bar covering the entirety of the walls on either side of the room that she and Thierry were trapped next to. The middle area was filled with expensive sofa's and booths that once helped to emphasise just how rich one would have to be to even contemplate coming here of an evening: but now they just served to highlight the destructive potential of humanity's firearms as they turned expensive leather sofa's into little more than bits of tanned hide and stuffing, and wooden booths into little more than fragments of wood not too dissimilar to those found leaving a wood-chipper.

On the floor above them ran an highly decorated railing that prevented people from falling to an early death, and was probably designed in a similar fashion to downstairs. Unfortunately, not only could Raynare not see past this safety feature, her attention was mostly focused on taking care of the fortified position that Thierry had spoken of.

It was a combination of sofa's, tables and other such items of heavy furniture that had been hastily put into place before the duo's arrival in the club to create something reminiscent of a Pillbox, albeit of wood and upholstery. Positioned right above the doorway which they needed to use in order to get to the next area of the club and have a chance of reaching the owner, the damned position was kitted out with enough firepower to take down a small battalion of professional soldiers easily, and still have enough to take down another two. It was a ludicrous amount of firepower that only an insane person would believe they had a chance of getting past.

Unfortunately for these gangsters though, they weren't dealing with a battalion of soldiers. Nay, they were dealing with something a million times worse.

The _Jackal_ and his new 'accomplice', _Haze._

From the moment he had been tasked with overseeing her training, Thierry had drilled Raynare mercilessly in every single aspect of war: mortal and supernatural. From firearms to spear-based combat, explosive ordinance to Holy magic, survival in a hostile environment to slipping into a well-guarded compound, mental to physical conditioning, Thierry had left no stone unturned. And whilst she may have only been a fledgling at his crafts, Raynare could already say that she was a far superior fighter compared to when she had first fallen into Thierry's care. He was an amazing teacher, even though he didn't really know it. There was just something about him that made you push yourself that little bit further, train that little bit longer, pay attention that smidgen closer.

In all honesty he had just about every trait you could want in a good role-model. Thierry was incredibly intelligent and (usually) hard-working when compared to the vast majority of the world. He was arguably the single strongest human being alive and when allowed to unleash his _full _power, he became more monster than man: and yet he never abused that power once. His skills in combat, good looks and general demeanour when you got to know the real him were also major factors in his overall appeal as a person. And even though he was haunted by demons that she could only ever even begin to imagine, Raynare couldn't help but marvel at his mental strength and durability….

In fact, she only really had one complaint about her new friend.

"_BRING IT ON YOU SPINELESS FUCK-BUCKETS!" _

And that was that he was a bigger battle nut than Dondesheek.

….

That's to say he was really, really, _really_ bad.

The moment his battle-cry left his lips, Raynare couldn't help but watch as Thierry suddenly burst out from behind his cover with a superhuman show of speed and agility. But what was so god-damned impressive about the whole display was not that he was covering an area of open-ground in quarter the time it would take even an Olympic level athlete to. Nor was it his monstrous show of strength as he kicked an entire _booth _across the open area and into a small group of guards, who were turned into little more than red paste on the wall. No, what was truly gob-smacking about Thierry's renewed assault was the fact that he was _blocking bullets. _

With his knife.

Raynare had seen some insane things in her time, but this may well have taken the cake. Her friend's arms were like a blur as he either deflected the bullets that would hit him, or proceeded to _cut them in half. _She knew that he had reflexes beyond her imagination, but as far as she was concerned, when you started pulling Neo-like bullshit, as Thierry was doing, you had to question whether or not that person was telling the truth when they said they were _human. _

She continued to watch for a split-second more, mesmerised as Thierry trained his pistol on a group of guards that were closing in on him, before unloading four shots at them. Each and every single round found itself buried into the skull of one of the incoming, suit-clad mobsters, sending them tumbling to the floor in a mess of tangled limbs and brain-matter. The whole thing seemed to happen in slow motion, and as such, Raynare couldn't _help _but be morbidly fascinated by the violence that was playing out in-front of her. It was like something from a Hollywood blockbuster. However, before she could continue with her current train of thought, Raynare found her attention being focused back onto her task when Thierry cried out to her over the gunfire.

"_NOW RAYNARE!" _

Shaking her head, the buxom young Fallen pulled the pin of the grenade that she was holding before she began her count, noticing how each second seemed to stretch out like an eternity.

'_One.' _

Raynare watched as Thierry calmly turned the left hand side of his body towards a goon with a pistol, who tried to line up the infamous 'Jackal' for a shot. With his full weight pitched forwards, Thierry began running towards the terrified young man as he unloaded the first of two wild shots towards her partner, tilting his head slightly to the right in order to avoid a round that would have sent his brains splattering across the floor.

Thierry brought his knife up the moment the second shot was loosed, and an instant later, the bullet that would have ripped straight through his shoulder-blade was knocked off-course, sending the brass round flying off towards the light-fixtures above, shattering a large fitting and sending a river of sparks and flames flying down towards the bar area. The flames glinted gently off of the cold, merciless steel of Thierry's knife and pistol, whilst serving to illuminate his opponents horror struck face as he was subjected to a full-frontal body-slam.

'_Two'_

By this time, the remaining three guards that were in the open began to open fire on Thierry's unexposed back. But as if on pure instinct, Thierry used his momentum to begin spinning in mid-air until his opponent was between him and the hot wall of incoming lead that screaming towards them, acting as a human shield. Said man let out a scream of pure agony as red-hot rounds began to bury their way into his back, but thanks to the body armour that he was wearing, they were never going to cut straight through him and hit Thierry.

Whilst his shield screamed bloody murder, said French hit-man calmly levelled his sidearm at the three remaining soldiers that he could hit. His eyes were as cold as a winter's wind as he zeroed in on his first target, a young-ish looking man with brown hair and eyes who was clad in the same black suit as every other guard in the building.

'_Three' _

On the third count, Raynare flung the grenade from her dainty hand towards the entrenched position that was still trying to get some form of clean shot at Thierry. Had said explosive been thrown by anyone else, then there was a realistic chance that said person wouldn't have either thrown it far enough or accurately enough to hit the make-shift pillbox, and thus the men inside would have lived to see another day.

Unfortunately for those men, Raynare had pin-point accuracy with almost any throwing weapon in existence, and given her status as a two winged Fallen-Angel, she also had more than enough strength to make the throw.

If time had been going slowly in the seconds leading up to this moment, then it was virtually at a stand-still now. The grenade seemed to travel through the air at a snail's pace, covering the open air so slowly that it made Raynare almost scream in frustration. The dull green colour-scheme of the explosive weapon glinted in the light of the club, adding to the ominous effect of the weapon as it flew through the air. The moment the grenade reached half-way, Thierry unload the first of his shots towards the firing squad that was currently attempting to turn him into mincemeat. The moment the bullet left the barrel, six or seven return shots slammed into his human shield, sending a cloud of bloody-red mist flying into the air, whilst several more dug into the cold stone flooring, sending dust and sharpened bits of rock flying into the air.

The moment he was able to, Thierry unloaded the second and third shots consecutively towards his targets. The second round, like the first, found itself buried into the skull of the guard that was on the left hand side of the group, sending a huge spurt of blood and brain-matter flying out of the back of his skull as the backs of their heads exploded. The third shot, however, only clipped its target in the shoulder and actually failed to kill him. Thierry's eyes seemed to narrow as he zeroed in his sights on the target like the well trained, high-class professional assassin he was...

Just as the grenade entered the pill-box.

_**BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! **_

Raynare tried to use her hands to block out the horrific din as it filled the entire room, but it was like trying to drown out the sound of a jet-engine being fired up whilst you stood next to it. As a result, the young Fallen Angel couldn't help but release a small squeal of pain as her hearing was destroyed and replaced by a loud, grating ringing sound that drowned out everything, including the young Fallen Angel's hearing.

'_Fucking hell! Was that one of those custom grenades Thierry always talks about?' _She thought to herself when the ringing died down and she felt it was probably safe enough for her to start moving again. The moment she looked out from behind her cover, the young Fallen couldn't help but let out a small whistle of appreciation at the sheer amount of damage that the explosive had managed to cause to the relatively large room.

The entirety of the balcony area where the make-shift pillbox had been was literally non-existent. Everything, from the ground it stood-on to the men inside, had been eviscerated along with a lot of the surrounding area. That which had been spared from the detonation of the grenade had been showered across the room, covering the entire place in a thin blanket of dust and debris. The concussive force of the blast had also crushed and destroyed most things within a four or five meter radius of the hellish explosive, further damaging the room and spreading the remains of various bits of furniture and other such amenities all around the area.

'_I swear to god that I'm going to kick his ass! Thierry totally lied about….wait a second…'_

"Jackal!"

* * *

_(Thierry's P.O.V) _

The moment she realised that her friend had not made his way over to her after the devastating explosion, Raynare stumbled out from behind her now-shredded cover and made her way over to where she had last seen Thierry as quickly as possible, given the condition of the floor. When she finally reached the area, she was ready to let out a whimper of despair as she caught sight of the massive concrete slab that was lying where her closest confident had last been. However, just before she could scream out his real name, the block of concrete was suddenly sent flying up into the air before crashing down some several meters away from where it had started.

Underneath were two bodies, one of which had little more than two inches left in terms of his bodies' thickness. The second body grunted in irritation before rolling the human remains that he was trapped under off of his body, revealing a blood-soaked but overall unharmed Thierry Blanc to the dust filled air of the club once again.

Placing his hands behind his head, Thierry used his superior upper body strength and leg strength to leap back onto his feet, pistol and knife firmly returned to his grip as he stretched his arms above his head, eliciting several 'pops' from his spine...

Before turning his head towards Raynare…

And having it snapped back into its previous position following said Fallen Angel's slap.

"Next time, tell me when I'm handling a mini fucking tank round will you! And don't do something that stupid ever again, or I swear by all that's holy, I will find a way to resurrect your sorry arse just so I can kill you myself for being so bloody reckless!" Raynare screeched in anger, causing Thierry to shift a rather pissed off gaze towards the buxom young Fallen. However, before he could retort (what he saw as) her needless anger, he caught sight of the look in her eyes.

_Fear. _

_Worry. _

_Concern. _

As much as he wanted to reprimand her for being unprofessional, Thierry also knew that Raynare was clearly trying to look out for him, given the fact that she _cared _for him, just like he genuinely cared for her. And as such, he swiftly found his anger dying down until it was virtually none-existent, all whilst musing to himself.

'_Damn it, I can't stay mad at her. She's just trying to look out for my health, which is probably a good thing considering that the only other two people who do that are Azazel and Shimhazai. But she needs to know that sometimes you have to take risks in an operation, whether you like it or not.' _

"Raynare, I'm sorry for scaring you like that, but 'ou need to understand zat sometimes, 'ou need to take risks in an operation. Ezpecially with one as important as zis." He told her gently, earning a soft nod from the young girl before she darted forwards and wrapped Thierry in a tight yet somehow gentle hug.

"I know, I just don't like the thought of you being in danger."

"Better me than 'ou, I have ze training to survive stupid shit like zat." He replied dryly, earning a small chuckle from Raynare as she pulled away from Thierry, wiping her exposed eyes gently before a small grin seemed to from underneath the lower-face mask that she wore. Cocking her head slightly, the young girl pointed towards the door behind Thierry before she spoke.

"I'm pretty sure that there are more arseholes through there between us and Serkov." She commented in a blasé tone of voice, earning a sadistic chuckle from Thierry as he sealed away his pistol and returned his combat knife to its place on his right forearm. The young Frenchman felt his entire body go slightly giddy at the prospect of yet more violence, and so it was with a dark chuckle that Thierry began to stalk towards the door whilst slowly drawing the crimson-red blade that sat in the sheath on his right hip.

"_Then let's go so say hello." _

* * *

_(Kuoh Academy, at the same time, with Yumi) _

Yumi Kiba let out a small sigh as she continued to flick through the fashion magazine that she was reading in the main room of the Occult research club. None of her usual contract summonses had called for her this evening, whilst everyone else had been sent on a job and the young devil's master had left to speak with her elder brother via a communication seal in private. And as such had little to do aside from sit about and either do her homework or read. And seeing as she had already finished the former on that incredibly short and boring list, the young devil-girl had resorted to browsing through various fashion magazines. However, whilst this would normally only be something that she did when there was little else for her to do of an evening, this time her perusal was actually serving a purpose other than to alleviate the mind-numbing boredom of being the only person left in the club-room at the moment.

'_Oh that would probably catch his eye.' _Thought to herself with a small smirk as she caught sight of one look in particular that she was certain that would help ensnare the attention of a certain Frenchman that she had set her eyes on.

Said look consisted of flat, ballerina-style shoes, jeggings and a simple white shirt along with a lightweight white blazer with black accents. The model who was wearing the outfit certainly looked stunning in it, but as far as Yumi was concerned, she was a million times more attractive than the girl in the photo. And as such, if any normal man found the person in the picture attractive, then they most certainly would find Yumi to be some kind of sex-goddess.

A vain comment?

Most certainly.

But truthful?

Irrefutably.

'_Fufufu, I can't wait to ask Pierr out when he gets back~! I'll wear this and then hopefully we can take our…. __**Alone time **__into territory that strays into something more than just a bit of kissing.' _Yumi thought to herself gleefully, blissfully unaware of the small blush spreading across her face as she began to fantasize as to how she would go about asking Thierry out. In fact, so wrapped up in her own little world was the young girl that she failed to notice the Gremory seal that had sprung to life in the room, nor the faint glow it emitted as a member of the peerage was returned back to club.

However, she was most certainly snapped out her thoughts when an all too familiar, teasing voice cut through her daydreaming like a knife through hot butter.

"Ara,ara Yumi-chan, what's gotten you so happy since I left…. Or is it better of me to ask _who's _made you so happy since I left?" Akeno commented off-handedly, snapping Yumi out of her thoughts. Said girl turned her steely grey orbs onto the buxom Queen before fixing her violet eyes with a withering glare.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Oh, I can tell it's Pierr-kun. After all, why else would _you _of all people be _happy _to read a fashion magazine of all things?" Akeno retorted in an off-handed manner, causing Yumi's eyes to narrow slightly as she intensified her glare, as if hoping that some ill misfortune would befall the buxom ravenette if she kept staring long enough.

"Fuck you."

"I'd rather that be Pierr. I mean, when I finally win our little bet and get to see his _full glory, _I'm certain that it'll be for a rather _intimate _few hours." By the time Akeno had finished her sentence, Yumi was shooting the girl a look that, if it could kill, would leave Akeno dead a thousand times over. Her entire form was shaking as she glared at the other female in the room with absolute venom in her eyes, whilst her mind drifted back to the conversation that they had a day or so before the party at the Phenex Manor.

* * *

(_Flashback) _

_Yumi and Akeno stood facing one-another in a deserted Occult Research Club room with little more than the coffee table that sat between the Sofa's separating them. Both girls had passive looks on their faces and a calculating look in their eyes as they eyed up their competition in the new battle that had emerged between the two of them over the past few days. _

_The two of them had been dropping subtle hints around one another about their attraction to Pierr Dusitoir, in an effort to get a response out of one another so that they knew where they stood. Up until now, neither of them had said a word. But when Yumi dropped her latest hint about wanting to 'hang out' with Pierr, Akeno decided that now would be the best time to challenge the girl on the issue, seeing as there was nobody else around, therefore allowing them to keep their discussion private. However, the trouble was that neither of them really knew how to begin the conversation without making it too awkward or weird, and thereby negating the chance to have a serious discussion on the matter. _

_Eventually, Akeno seemed to pluck up enough courage to begin their long-awaited conversation about the person of their combined interests. _

"_So you like Thierry then, Yumi?" _

_It was blunt and to the point, something which Yumi seemed to appreciate as the girl nodded her head slightly before flopping down onto the sofa to her right, whilst Akeno followed suit, only on the sofa opposite. _

"_So how's this going to go down then? Because I'm pretty sure that we've liked him for an equal amount of time." Yumi supplied casually as she met Akeno's gaze with her own. Said Queen merely nodded her head before a small, almost sadistic smirk began to play across her luscious lips. _

"_Well, I think that the only real way that we can solve this issue is with a little competition between you and I." Akeno's voice was cheery and calm, as if she hadn't just suggested that they essentially battle over the attention of a man like two small children. Yumi's disbelief manifested itself in the shocked look she sent Akeno before attacking her idea.  
_

"_That's insane! Pierr's not some box of chocolates or something, he's a human being! A really, really hot human being, but that doesn't mean we can fight over him like some sort of spoilt toy." Yumi countered hotly, drawing a small sigh from Akeno as she crossed her legs and fixed her junior with a small smile. _

"_I'm not saying we __**actually **__fight over him. Rather, we both try to woo him and get a date with him, and the first person to bed him gets to hold the position of girlfriend, and therefore has vetting powers over who and who cannot be his mistresses." _

_Following Akeno's blasé comment, a disbelieving silence fell over the room as Yumi's face went blank and her mind tried to process what her fellow peerage member had just said. Eventually, after what seemed like an age, the buxom young knight seemed to regain enough of her cognitive functions to reply to her master's Queen. _

_That didn't mean it was intelligent or anything though. _

"_EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?" _

"_I thought I was pretty clear, Yumi-chan?" Akeno asked politely whilst poking one of her eardrums in an effort to recover from Yumi's outrageously loud scream that had caused most of the birds on Campus to fly away in fear. Said buxom blond continued to glare at the 'Crimson haired ruin Princess's' Queen before finally deciding to voice her issues with her statement. _

"_What the hell do you mean 'vetting powers on who and who cannot be his mistresses', you crazy bitch?" _

"_Ara, ara, so uncouth for a lady! But to answer your question, I literally meant what I said. Pierr is an extremely powerful, sexy young man with an appealing personality. As such, it is extremely unlikely that he will be stuck with one woman, seeing as the Supernatural world is keen on polygamy. But seeing as either one of us will get there first, we are therefore entitled to choose who can be a part of his love-life." Akeno answered seriously, as if she had practiced the whole thing the night before. Yumi looked at the girl disbelievingly before turning her gaze away from her, a small smirk slowly forming on her lips as the 'Priestess of Thunder's' argument began to take sway in her mind. _

"_What makes you think I'll want to share Pierr with you when I win this little game of ours?" She replied calmly, earning a small giggle from Akeno. Yumi felt her eyebrow twitch in annoyance as the girl just continued to giggle and ignore the Knight's question, seemingly on purpose. The blond-haired girl growled in annoyance before slamming her hands down on the table and glaring venomously at the girl across from her. _

"_WHAT ARE YOU GETTING AT YOU FUCKING BITCH!" Yumi roared, causing Akeno to giggle even harder as the blond seethed in rage at the Queen's reaction. Eventually though, Yumi calmed down and adopted a smug look on her face that caused Akeno to cease her giggling. _

"_I get it, you must be having a mental breakdown after realising that my superior body will carry the day for me quite easily!" Yumi proclaimed happily, whilst crossing her arms underneath her incredible bust, causing it to strain quite badly against her shirt. The blond Knight took a huge amount of personal pleasure in seeing Akeno's eyebrow twitch in irritation at the comment, having obviously struck a nerve with the raven-haired she-devil. However this look did not remain for long, and Yumi soon found herself having to pick her jaw up off of the floor at her masters' Queen's next comment. _

"_Are you so sure about that? After all, last time I check, I was the one who shared a bath with Pierr-kun whilst we were on our training tr- oh shit!" The Queen found her monologue interrupted by Yumi, who had a summoned a sword into her hands lashing out at the buxom girl opposite her in a fit of absolute rage. Akeno fell over the back of the sofa before charging lightning into her hands and narrowing her own eyes at Yumi. _

_The two remained silent as lightning seemed to literally spark between their eyes before they both charged forwards, screaming the same thing. _

"_I WON'T LOSE TO YOU, SKANK!" _

_Needless to say, the resulting cat-fight was one that spawned one of the greatest female rivalries in history…_

_And caused a rather large headache for a certain crimson-haired princess when she saw what was left of her club-room when she got back._

_(End flashback) _

* * *

'_I'm not going to let her win this bout. This time, I'm going to win. And I have an idea of the best weapon to use against this skank.' _Yumi thought to herself darkly as Akeno began to laugh to herself over her apparent victory in this little spar. Yumi merely flicked her hair over her shoulders before allowing a small smirk to cross her lips as she spoke up.

"And yet you still don't know what Pierr's lips feel like, do you?" She commented off-handedly, leading to Akeno's laughter dying a rather abrupt death. The raven-haired she-devil grit her teeth audibly before turning her head towards Yumi with a fake smile plastered onto her lips, her eyes shadowed by the bangs of her hair. The knight couldn't help but allow her victorious smirk to grow into a full-blown smile at the other girl's look before she continued speaking.

"I mean, why would he want to know how your shitty lips feel when he tasted mine back at the party. In fact, I think he had coped a feel of my ti- OH SHIT!" Yumi screamed as she was forced to dive off of the sofa she had been laying on in an effort to avoid a now demonic looking Akeno who's eyes had taken on a red glint as lightning danced around her fingers as she lined up another shot.

"JUMP UP YOUR FUCKING ARSE AND DIE YOU BITCH!"

Their brawl would last until Rias came back to the club-room to find the building almost destroyed with two girls still rolling around in the ruins, trying to fight one-another despite their rather clear and obvious fatigue. And when Akeno and Yumi caught sight of their master's tapping foot, they could both only think one thing.

'_Fuck! I hope Pierr's having a better time than I am.' _

* * *

_(With Thierry and Raynare)_

"Achoo!"

"Bless you, Jackal."

"No need, I zink it was because someone's talking about me."

"Whatever you say, you narcissistic bastard."

"I am not – Oi! Where do 'ou think you're going!"

"_No, please – ghack!" _**SMASH!**

Thierry dusted his hands lightly as he took in the form of the man he had just hurtled half-way across the office they were currently in. Raynare let out a small sigh at the man's feeble attempt to get away before turning back to pilfering through the draws she currently had open on the man's desk. Said man appeared to be in his late forties to early fifties with black hair and brown eyes along with a thick, bushy moustache. He was wearing an expensive business suit that was currently slashed in several places and was covered in a lot of blood, some of which was his own, but the majority belonging to the guards who's blood was currently leaking all over the floor of the office.

The man went to say something, but before he could 'The Jackal' beat him to it.

"I'm not going to ask you again Surkov, where the fuck did you move the shipment from the Khaos Brigade to?" Thierry snarled in a voice that was as cold as death itself. Surkov looked away from the infamous hitman, as if searching his mind for an answer. However, he apparently took too long for Thierry's liking as the Frenchman merely kicked the downed Russian in the chest, causing him to let out a shriek of pure agony as his ribs were either bruised or broken by the immense strength put behind the kick.

"_Fuck! Okay, okay! The shipment was moved onto a small place called Planzted. It's an old warehouse site in the middle of fucking nowhere; abandoned after the fall of communism. The guy you're looking for is called Hitsuguya : brown hair and eyes, medium build. You'd have to ask him for more information about where the shipment went from there. That's all I know, I swear It!" _Surkov snivelled out in Russian, earning a small sigh from Thierry who took several moments to contemplate the man's words before nodding his head acceptingly.

"_I believe you_."

"_Does that mean I can leave?" _The man asked hopefully. However, whatever little hope he had of making it out of his office alive was dashed when Thierry levelled his Browning Hi-power pistol at the man's head.

"_Sorry, but the Jackal doesn't leave witnesses." _

"_No, nonononon_o-_" _**BANG! **

A flash of light later and Surkov's cold and lifeless corpse was left slumped against the far wall of his **office as the Jackal slowly began to stalk towards the door, whilst turning his head to Raynare. **

"Raynare, set the charges and get ready to move out…."

"_This hunt has only just begun." _

* * *

**A/N: **

**Told ya'll I'd be back today! **

**I'll tell you what, I actually had a lot of fun writing this chapter. I don't know whether it's because I haven't really 'written' anything in a while, or because I'm riding the euphoria of finishing exams, but this wasn't a chore to write at any moment, which is quite the statement seeing as that's a problem most chapters have. Now normally I **_**would **_**hit roughly ten thousand – twelve thousand words, but seeing as this has only been written in about four to five hours, I'd say that roughly nine thousand or so words is about right, especially when you consider that this is the first proper chapter I've written in quite some time.**

**I'd like to hear what you guys thought of the character interactions in this chapter, especially Akeno and Yumi. I tried to get the 'over-the-top-friendly-rivals' vibe that seems to permeate through Mirajane and Erza's relationship in 'Fairy Tail' and as such I would appreciate any sort of feedback you have for me. I've always felt that character interactions were amongst the worst aspects of my writing, and as such I tried to work on this that little bit extra to make it above par for what I usually do, in order to raise the standard of an 'average' chapter. **

**Any ways, I'm sure that you've all figured this out by now, but just in case it hasn't become apparent to you guys, I've provided you all with a harem update below so that you can keep track of how things are going, seeing as it's been some time since I last posted on. **

**So here it is. **

**Thierry's Harem:**

**-Kuroka **

**-Raynare **

**-Yumi **

**-Akeno **

**-Rossweiss **

**-Sona **

**-?**

**-?**

**-?**

**-?**

**-? **

**I would also like to point out that this is the maximum I really want to push with any harem. Anything beyond roughly 11 – 14 (maybe fifteen) is kind of stupid, in my opinion. It leaves virtually no screen time for the girls, and they become sacks of meat that the main character (be they Issei, and OC or Naruto) to have sex with in a short, undetailed lemon that tends to have as much emotion and gravity to it as found in a hooker's job. **

**I intend to keep the harem at this sort of level as it means everyone can get a decent amount of screen time : and when I write the lemon scenes that are planned for this story, all I can say is that they will contain equal focus on the emotional side of sex as much as the carnal acts. Instead of male characters (Naruto, I'm looking at you here) 'roaring their release' or having a dick that nothing short of a horse could beat, whilst simply fucking any girl in their harem silly because they have god-like stamina, even during their first time (**_***See almost any Naruto x-over that involves a lemon for an example*). **_**But anyways, that's looking quite far into the future, so let's leave that as it is for now. **

**And that pretty much covers everything ya'll need to know….**

**Oh, expect for the fact that I have another DxD cross-over planned, hopefully for release either tomorrow or Saturday, and I would appreciate it if you guys (also along with my other stories) would mind reading it and showing it some love. It's going to be a: Harry Potter / Highschool DxD / Code Geass / Lots of other Anime Amalgaverse that combines the stories of the first three aforementioned Anime/Manga in a lot of ways, whilst tons of other stories supplement the main x-overs. **

**So yeah, like I said, check it out. Because it's going to be my single largest and most complex project to date, with something for just about everyone! **

**Anyways, enough about that. **

**Please leave a review to tell me what I did well and not so well, and therefore what needs improving and what can stay as it is (let's try and break the eighty reviews mark today, it'd mean a lot to me!). And make sure to keep up-to-date with the story by dropping a fave or a follow (or maybe even both), and do go visit some of my other works via my profile page: I'm always looking to expand the fan base I have for each story! **

**Peace folks, **

**MetalGearMantis. **

_**P.S: There's a sneak-peak at the next chapter below, by the way! **_

* * *

_**(Chapter Eight sneak peek: 'Blood on the snow'.) **_

Raynare's breathing was deep and calm as she kept her Sniper's sights zeroed in on the target building. She had been laid there like that for several hours, barely moving a single inch as she kept her murderous eyes trained on the enemies that were within the warehouse district that she and Thierry were currently attacking. Raynare was, obviously, providing long-range support to her closest confidant and friend with a VSK Silence sniper rifle whilst Thierry moved in on the ground. She had been waiting for almost thirty agonizing minutes before the small ear-piece she was wearing crackled into life, almost causing her to jump slightly in surprise.

"_Jackal to Haze, come in Haze, over." _

Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, Raynare gently used her right hand to turn off the mute button and therefore allow herself to respond to her partner-in-crime.

"_This is Haze, send traffic, over." _Her response was wholly professional and totally focused on the task at hand. Thierry seemed to take a moment to compose himself before he continued to speak to her down their secure channel.

"_I'm at the base of the target building, North entrance. I need you to confirm a hard visual on me, over." _

Sweeping her scope away from the eastern quadrant of the building, Raynare repositioned her gaze until it was finally fixed on Thierry, who she only saw thanks to the faint glinting a signalling mirror. Blinking several times to clear her vision, Raynare re-adjusted her scope before replying to her friend.

"_Hard visual confirmed, Jackal. Sniper support is available, over."_

"_Alright, we've only got one shot at this Haze. Hitsuguya cannot escape, we need to know where the weapon went from here and any additional information that we can beat out of him. If you get the chance, clip him with a shot so that any escape attempt will be that bit more difficult for him. _

_Five seconds after I finish this communication, I'll activate the seal suppressor, so that if he wants to get away, he'll have to fly. You switch to thermal and start clearing the factory floor out from back to front, whilst I take out whatever you miss. _

_Sound good? Over." _

Raynare allowed a small smile to grace her lips, underneath her mask as she flicked off the safety switch on her Sniper before responding with the two words that she knew Thierry was dying for her to say.

'_Let's rock!'_


	9. Chapter 9:QUICK UPDATE

_**QUICK UPDATE:**_

Hey guys,

First of all, I would like to say that this is NOT a notice of cancellation. I am committed to finish The Jackal of the Grigori, and have no intentions of abandoning it (as with my other stories). It's just that between my PC breaking (and causing the loss of a LOT of documents related to my stories) and writers block, it's been really hard to write anything. Couple that with the stress of getting ready to move into a place for the start of my first year at University, and well I'm sure you can all guess that it's hardly the most productive mind-set to be stuck with when trying to write.

However, with my arrival at University imminent and my mind slowly recovering from the stress of acquiring accommodation and writers block, I do hope to get a few chapters out for my stories before I go. After that, I probably won't update over the course of Fresher's, as those of you who know what this entails will appreciate I probably won't be … well lucid enough to write anything!

However, unlike with courses such as Medicine and other Science or maths based degrees, History and Ancient History is less hands on and therefore means that I will have slightly more free time on my hands than several people I know. This is not to say I have a cake-walk ahead of me, but it does mean that with decent planning and attention to detail, I will be able to update consistently whilst at University.

The plan (because we all know how _well _those turn out for me), is to update one story a week between 'The Jackal of the Grigori', 'Code: DxD Potter' and 'Despair of the Uchiha'. TLS will be irregularly, as and when I feel I have cleaned up the chapters to the standard I want them to be at. It's not great, I know , but it's the best I can do for now until I know more and I've settled into a routine.

But any ways, that's enough from me for now. Again, apologies for the non-update, but I felt I had to break the silence. And I also thank you all for your (seemingly) limitless patience and understanding, as well as your enjoyment of my work. It's what makes me want to write, after all.

Any ways, peace folks, and I'll get something to ya'll soon!

MetalGearMantis.


	10. Chapter 10: GENERAL NOTICE, 'I'M BACK'

GENERAL NOTICE: I'M BACK!

Why hello there people, long time no-see, eh? I know you all probably thought that I went and forgot or gave up on writing for you guys, but I'm proud to say that have not and that my lack of activity has been for two reasons – adapting to Uni life and illness.

I originally planned to update all my works over Christmas, but I was laid low by a rather horrific bout of illness that left me bed ridden for several days and barely willing to get out of bed when I was able to, let alone write anything.

But now I've settled in at Uni and shaken the bugs that were plaguing me, I'm finally ready again to get back to doing what I love – writing for and entertaining you guys.

I plan to have Code: DxD Potter updated by Wednesday, Thursday at the latest and The Jackal of the Grigori by Friday and Legacy by Saturday. I've written the majority of the chapters for the first two stories, and so I shall look to finish them off this week so that next week we can finally begin to make some headway with my works – because a fair few of you have been letting me know that you want me to get back to updating.

And I enjoy my life too much to get cyber-lynched by an angry mob of FanFic readers !

Well rejoice my readers, for the Mantis has returned.

And he's here to stay!

So Until my next official chapter, I bid you goodbye.

Peace folks,

Mantis.

P.S: Make sure to go check out the one story I have managed to update – Despair of the Uchiha. It's a different take on the DxD / Naruto crossover that I hope you'll all enjoy XD !


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